Laella Anderson
by uptown line
Summary: Laella Anderson is Blaine's little sister. Watch how she deals with a crazy year at Lima, while coping with her own problems too.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**Hello!**

**I should probably make an introduction. Hello, I'm Jessica C. I will be frank with you- this is my first time writing a fanfiction. So, if I make a few mistakes, please feel free to tell me so I can correct them.**

**The idea for Laella came from reading some sibling fanfiction of the Glee characters. I felt that maybe I could add to them, and basically develop an OC instead of them just staying in the background.**

**This story is mainly Laella-centric, but I'll be incorporating the Glee characters in too- (obviously). This story will pan from a few chapters of summer to senior year at McKinley. And yes, I'm making Blaine a senior with Kurt, since I for one do not believe how Blaine's age just mysteriously drops as the season goes by.**

**Fine, it's because I ship Klaine very much, too. **

**But sit back and enjoy!**

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><p>"Blaine Anderson! Or should I say… Your Majesty?"<p>

"Kurt, I'm not that rich." The lead singer laughed at his boyfriend's stunned expression.

The boy in question had been wide-eyed and open-mouthed since they drove past the wide lawns with the golf course in the corner. Picture it- a private golf course in _Westerville_. It got to the extent when they reached the voice-controlled security gate, where behind it, situated the glamorous Anderson house.

Kurt spun around. "Not that rich? Blaine, your house is ten times of mine."

Blaine just smiled and kept his eyes on the road. Sure, Kurt was right, but when his parents weren't around, being home alone really sucked. Thus a week ago, he begged Kurt to sleep over at his house for a week while his parents went on a business trip. "Come on Kurt, it's the holidays!"

As long as they didn't make any mess, his parents will never find out.

Once they were in front of the canopy-covered door with potted plants littering the side, Blaine jumped out, the gentleman he always was, and opened the door for Kurt. Then, linked hand-in-hand, they pushed open the grand doors of the Anderson house.

Kurt gaped at the view that greeted him joyfully. The first room they had walked into was the living room, and he almost could not resist the urge to run and sink his face into those comfy cushions laid neatly on the sofa in front of that tempting fireplace.

And… _holy shit_, they had an elevator. Kurt looked over at his boyfriend, chatting with the butler that had greeted them at the door. Yeah, a _butler, _now what argument will Blaine give for 'not being rich?

Blaine spotted him and bounded over, linking their fingers together. "We have the house to ourselves today! What do you want to do now?" Before Kurt had even opened his mouth, Blaine quickly pulled Kurt along as they ran up the long winding staircase. They stopped outside a door with a plate marked "Blaine" on it. Blaine pushed open the door and once again, unintentionally stunned Kurt.

"Blaine, this is so you." Kurt smirked.

And it was. A four-poster canopy bed took up the middle of the room, while posters of Katy Perry and Freelance Whales, his favorite band, covered up the wallpaper. There hung a billboard littered with photographs and notes and post-its on top of a study table which was the only area of the room which was significantly clean. Blaine's guitar lay in the corner, obviously brought back when Dalton closed for summer break.

Kurt walked up to the billboard and glanced at all the photos. There was a picture of the Warblers at a nursing home post-Regional's, one of Blaine hugging a little girl who looked much like him- Kurt made sure to ask him on that one- another of Blaine with his brother Everett and that same little girl, and a picture of him. Kurt sighed in embarrassment as he looked at himself with messed up hair and half-closed eyes. It was at one of their movie nights when they had fallen asleep together on the couch. Kurt had woken up to a camera flash but was too sleepy to comprehend what was going on.

Blaine walked right up and wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist. "What are you looking at?" He whispered, kissing his cheek. He then spun Kurt around and kissed him. "Now come on, I'm bored already."

"Are you sure?" Kurt whispered, giving Blaine another kiss on the neck, the two boys slowly moving to the bed.

"Mmmm…. Maybe not for now…" Blaine trailed off and rolled over so that Kurt was at the bottom, gently caressing the bit of skin that got exposed as Kurt's shirt rode up in the process. Kurt hummed and slowly pulled him in. "Shut up and kiss me."

They could have gone further if not for the faint strains of music coming from within the house.

Blaine slowly broke away, ignoring Kurt's sigh and attempts to pull him back in. "Shush… Kurt, do you hear something?"

"Could it just be one of your neighbors?"

"No. There's something familiar about that sound…" Blaine looked towards the door thoughtfully, before he quickly stood up, dragging a disgruntled Kurt along. He pulled the countertenor along out of the room and through the hallways.

The music got louder as they walked and Kurt could now hear a few bars of Any Way You Want It. He grinned slightly, mouthing the words of the mash up performed by New Directions at the fatal Regional's which they lost to the Vocal Adrenaline robots. The culprit behind their interrupted make out session was forgiven a little bit as she sang beautifully along with the music.

_She loves to laugh__  
><em>_She loves to sing__  
><em>_She does everything__  
><em>

Blaine suddenly broke out in the largest smile Kurt had ever seen him in. They stopped outside a door where the music was blaring the loudest at. Blaine slowly turned the doorknob and they peeked in.

The layout of the room was similar to Blaine's, except that it was more… girly. Kurt recognized Guitar Hero from the television screen. A girl was jumping along as she strummed onto the controller in her hand. She had her back to them, so she was absolutely oblivious to their arrival.

Blaine turned to Kurt. "Whatever you do, do not make any noise."

"But who is she?"

"She's my little sister."

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><p>Kurt watched as Blaine treaded cautiously on the mat.<p>

Sure, he was mad that Blaine did not mention having a sister – despite having met Everett before- but it was hard to stay mad when Blaine looked so excited like a 16 year old overgrown puppy.

Blaine, on the other hand, was ecstatic. Put it simply- he had not seen her for 6 months.

_One, two, three._ He thought to himself as he reached his destination- right behind his sister. He crouched, ready to spring.

He loved winning these battles.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Kurt jumped a little bit as Blaine successfully tackled the girl and the girl simultaneously let out a scream shriller than Quinn last year when Finn could not find any blueberries in 10 minutes when she was having that awful pregnancy craving. Blaine tumbled on the carpeted floor grinning, his hair tousled. He stared for a moment at the girl, and then burst out laughing. "Hey sis!"

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><p><strong>Hope it's not that bad. Review if possible!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2: Introductions

**Hello!**

**So it's me again. Chapter 2 is up! I figured I should upload it since I've already finished it. **

**Chapter 2 is basically about Kurt getting to know Laella, I guess. Bit of swearing, use of the f-words and some sass from one Laella Anderson. You have been warned. **

**But nevertheless, enjoy! :)**

**-JessC**

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><p>Chapter 2: Introductions<p>

The girl, after being stunned into silence for about a few seconds, suddenly snapped up and looked around, before noticing Blaine chuckling behind her. Okay, hold on- Blaine's here, I should be ecstatic about it- it's just that he just _messed up my hair_! She thought, grumbling. She quickly leapt on him before he had a chance to react. "You freaking' _hobbit_ Anderson!"

"Nice to see you too, after six whole months." Blaine looked up at Kurt while struggling with his little sister. "Now be nice, little smurf. I want you to meet my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" the girl stopped and turned around, noticing Kurt at the doorway. She quickly leapt to her feet. "Er… come in! Sorry it's a bit messy- it's all his fault." She pointed at Blaine, who had gotten up and was at Kurt's side now.

"What? How is it my fault you have slow reflexes…"

Kurt was a little stunned by what he had just witnessed but regained his composure quickly. "Oh, no problem! Erm…" he stilled for a bit, not knowing what to say.

Well, it was Batman Blaine to the rescue now. "Kurt, this is Laella Anderson. Her name means 'elf', so you can call her that, or you can even call her 'smurf' like I do." He winked.

"Ha, it's better than Blaine Anderson, 'yellow'."

"Shush, smurf, haven't you heard of not interrupting your elders when they speak? Anyway, yes, Lae's my little sister. I was going to mention her to you, but she's been away in Colorado for boarding school so long that I just felt that I'll wait for the right time to do so. She's 14 and annoying."

Laella snorted and gestured for them to sit on her couch, which they did. "Okay, hi Kurt. I'm not annoying; your boyfriend just can't stand my awesomeness- IS THAT SWEATER FROM ALEXANDER MCQUEEN'S FALL COLLECTION OF 2006?" she suddenly squealed.

Kurt grinned. "You're the first person in Ohio to guess the correct year. I'm impressed. I'll take my hat off to you." He held out his hand. "I'm Kurt Hummel."

Laella smiled and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you. So now I have one more accomplice to criticize Blaine's or Ethan's wardrobe, hmmm?"

"Hey!" Blaine protested from the side. He got up. "I swear, you are even more annoying as usual than Wes and David when they drink too much coffee." Ignoring Laella's murmur of, "Like you drink the acceptable amount a normal person unlike you is supposed to drink per hour." Blaine continued, "As a model brother, do you want to tag along with Kurt and me as we get coffee? We can try to catch up on things. It's been more than half a year since I've seen you in flesh." He ruffled her hair.

Laella narrowed her eyes at her brother, sending him a silent message to _stop messing up my hair or I will kill you_, but smiled soon and nodded. "I really miss the Lima Bean coffee."

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><p>The trio got into the queue at the Lima Bean. Blaine and Kurt were linked hand in hand, as Kurt watched as Blaine and his sister chatted on and on- or rather argued and teased- with each other. After Blaine had finished the story of how he and Kurt had met, Laella's eyes were shining in genuine happiness.<p>

"Oh my gosh! So romantic! Didn't know you had it in you, Blaine! Though I must say, I still can't believe the bisexual part- when you were in the second grade-"

"Ooookay! Let's not turn this conversation into the let's-embarrass-my-dear-kind-and-loving-brother type." Blaine smirked as the couple in front of them moved, signaling their turn at the counter.

"A grande non-fat mocha," he smiled at Kurt, who blushed, "a medium drip…" he looked inquiringly at Laella, who silently pointed to the pastry section, "and 6 chocolate chip cookies." He rolled his eyes.

The conversation when they had reached their table soon turned into about the events that happened in their respective schools. Laella suddenly asked, "So, Kurt, how are you coping with that puppy over there?" She motioned to Blaine, who was snuggling into Kurt's side. Kurt laughed. "Not easy, usually  
>I'm not attracted to guys that are vertically challenged," Laella ducked under the table to muffle a giggle and a <em>Yes I knew it! <em>while Blaine stuck his tongue out at Kurt, making the puppy theory look even more realistic, "but he seems to make me question my motives." He kissed Blaine on the nose and Laella smiled.

"F*cking faggots. Maybe next time you'll think to stop spreading your fairy dust around."

A group of jocks chose that moment to walk by their booth, deliberately pushing into Kurt and making him fall onto Blaine with a yelp. Blaine quickly helped Kurt up, steaming with rage. He made to get up from the booth when Laella stopped him with a shake of her head. "I got this."

"Laella!" Blaine sighed when she left the booth. He looked over at Kurt. "You okay, babe?" He snuck a kiss at his boyfriend's forehead.

"I'm not the one you need to worry about now." Kurt quickly stood up and grabbed Blaine's hand, walking off towards where Laella had disappeared to.

_Crap_, Blaine whispered irritated, heading towards the direction of where his sister went. He had _completely_ forgot about that.

"Bug off princess. It's not your fault your brother is being f*cking disgusting." Blaine and Kurt reached a corner in the coffee shop, seeing Laella being cornered against the wall. Blaine made a low growl and slowly stalked forward.

Laella quickly shot him a look to tell him to stay where he was.

"Alright, you overrated asshats, listen up. I don't give a shit what you guys think, but if you are even in a 3-mile radius of my brother and his cute boyfriend, I will go to your house, stand by your bed and watch you sleep, and get Austin High School boys to fly over and cut you. Yes, the Austins who kicked your sorry asses in the American hockey championships. And remember, I'm very affiliated to a particular one of them, and he'll probably fly over even if I broke a freaking finger." Laella's speech may not be very spectacular, but the death glare she gave them was enough to penetrate through gold and make an Everest-sized hole.

Blaine just stared with his mouth wide open and Kurt widened his eyes in a mixture of admiration and _she's-so-screwed_.

Luckily for Laella, even the bulkiest jock looked slightly unnerved at the defiant 5"2 little girl standing in front of him. "Come on boys." He grunted, walking away, though significantly speeding up when he caught sight of Blaine and Kurt.

As Blaine glared at their retreating backs, Kurt rushed over to Laella, who had collapsed a little by the sheer pressure. "Are you okay?" he whispered, patting her shoulder. Laella gave him a faint smile and nod, before looking over at her brother, who had joined them.

"Smurf, you can't always fight my battles for me." Blaine sighed as he helped her up, keeping his hand on her head, which she obviously brushed off quickly.

"Please. I had to do something."

Laella was looking up at her brother with helpless and pleading eyes.

Blaine looked at his sister inquisitively. It was never like Laella to be the one who would willingly stand up to 5 huge and bulky hockey players. But after a while, he just simply gave her another sigh. "Let's get out of here."

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><p><strong>Rate and Review! :)<strong>


	3. Chapter 3: Understanding

**It's me again!**

**Okay, a few things.**

**Damn, I already feel like changing the name of the older Anderson. Damn, I think I've been affected too much by RIB. ANYWAY, excuse me and my continuity errors. :/ I've changed the name from Everett to Ethan for some particular reasons I don't think I would want to bore you with.**

**Sorry it took me so long to update.**

**This is quite a short chapter, but enjoy nonetheless.**

**Enjoy!**

**-JessC**

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><p>Chapter 3: Understanding<p>

They were all sitting on Laella's bed on a Wednesday night, the only room with a television. Kurt had been wanting to have a movie night ever since the moment he had first stepped into Laella's bedroom and seen the high definition television.

Well, he didn't seem to have the energy anymore for his own plans, as through the whole night after a shopping spree with Tina and Mercedes, he was stubbornly trying to keep his eyes open through A Walk to Remember, and had given up and fallen asleep at the end of Toy Story 2 on Blaine's chest.

Laella wasn't really paying attention to the movies.

She was just idly finishing off the cookies Kurt had baked (and there wasn't much, considering that Blaine went into the kitchen halfway through the baking process and you don't spend 5 hours baking, do you?) and was now fiddling with the sheets, looking over at Blaine once in a while.

The older Anderson had his eyes fixed to the screen, now showing the toys arriving at Sunnyside Daycare in Toy Story 3. He was absentmindedly running his fingers through Kurt's hair, occasionally shifting to keep himself comfortable and trying not to wake Kurt up at the same time.

Laella looked down at the dead knot she had formed while fidgeting with the sheets. She sighed. Ever since the Lima Bean incident two days ago, Blaine had not been able to look her directly in the eye. Sure, he still chatted with her, but it was mostly when Kurt was around and about trivial things like the weather. Laella knew something was going on in his mind, but he never approached her at all. This night, she couldn't endure the unspoken tension at all anymore.

"Alright, Blaine. Just say it."

Blaine jumped in his skin by the sudden voice and looked up at his sister.

"Huh?" he acted confused.

"Just admit it. You've never been the same ever since Monday. You won't even hold a proper conversation with me. And don't deny it," she warned, when Blaine opened his mouth, "You don't even tease me as much as before. What is going on?" Laella locked her eyes on her brother's, daring him to avert his gaze.

Blaine closed his eyes for a second. It was true, there was something going on in his mind.

"Don't take this the hard way, but-"

"Blaine, just say it."

"I should have been asking you that question."

Laella's eyes widened in surprise. "Huh?" Now _she_ was the one confused. She had expected Blaine to deny it and say random things, but the question was now being directed towards _her_.

"You've always been the little sister in the relationship. I mean, when Dad had his tantrums, I had to be the one who protected you. And then, after 6 months of not meeting, you suddenly show up and defend me from a bunch of Neanderthals who are at least a feet taller than you." Blaine rambled on and on, smiling faintly only when Laella scowled at the height joke. "But seriously," he looked away, "I feel like the roles should be reversed. I'm supposed to be the one to defend you, not stand there all helpless, unable to defend myself."

Laella rolled her eyes. This is what this whole thing had been all about? "You've done so much, I should repay you." She shrugged like it was the norm.

"No, not just that. You looked so upset after the jocks left. Like you were thinking of something. Like as if it happened to you before." Blaine leant over slightly, careful not to wake Kurt. "What happened in Austin?"

_Oh, crap. _Laella suddenly turned pale. "N-Nothing! Why would you say that? Besides, I have a boyfriend in the hockey team. W-Why would you say that?" She stammered.

Blaine stared at her. "Are you sure?"

Her throat was tight. She nodded vigorously.

Silence for a moment. Then Blaine groaned. "You have a boyfriend?"

She smirked. "Jealous? I get my first boyfriend more earlier than you."

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Smug, aren't we?"

Laella sniggered softly. "His name's Cameron. He takes care of me. So take care of Kurt. He's pretty cool. And he has a good sense of fashion, unlike you and your bowties and that Rachel Berry girl we met in the mall yesterday. You better take care of him, or else I don't care if I'm related to you- I will not speak to you ever again."

Blaine smiled down at his sleeping boyfriend. "I won't. I've gone through so much with him- I love him too much to let him go."

Laella smiled and nodded approvingly. "Glad to see you've improved your taste since curly-haired 24-year-old. Kurt told me what you did in that GAP store. Good taste in songs, huh? All my dawgs, talking fast- ain't you got some photographs?" she sang that line of the song softly; smiling at Blaine's reddening face.

"You little smurf, I swear, how on earth are we related?"

"I was sent to balance the awesomeness in this family." Laella replied with a straight face.

"I don't think you'll say that in front of Ethan, though."

"Oh, shut up."

Blaine snorted disbelievingly and beckoned her over. "Come over. We've haven't managed to have much brotherly-sisterly moments in your 15 years on this Earth." Laella went over and curled under Blaine's arm, wrapping her arms around his chest above Kurt, and closed her eyes.

Blaine switched off the television. He kissed the foreheads of his beautiful boyfriend and his sister, and fell asleep to the rhythm of their hearts soon after.

Laella slowly opened her eyes.

She felt guilty. She had never lied to Blaine before. But it was inevitable.

She pulled her shirt up just a little bit.

She sighed. She would have to take the risk and use her arms now. She silently prayed for winter to come quick, so no one would stare. No one would whisper. Most importantly, no one would ask.

Her hand fidgeted. This was the first night she hadn't used it.

She felt an uneasy feeling settle in her stomach. No, she couldn't get used to not doing it. Not at all.

Laella absentmindedly rubbed her arms, deep in thought. What was it like to be normal? She closed her eyes for a moment. She couldn't remember those carefree days anymore. The days of no worries, not having to check if it was showing, or whether there was no more blood left on her shirt.

And there she laid, Blaine's arm draped lazily around her, thinking, until sleep overtook her.


	4. Chapter 4: Wet

**Hello!**

**Enjoy this chapter! This is the last chapter before the school term starts for the members!**

**-JessC**

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><p>Chapter 4: Wet<p>

It was the last two weeks of summer.

Blaine and Kurt had been invited to a New Direction's pool party at Quinn's place after the members had found out that Sam was moving after the summer and wanted to send him off properly. Well, technically, Kurt was invited, but he decided to bring Blaine along and, after making sure it was not another Rachel Berry House Party Trainwreck Extravaganza, pulled a lazy Laella from bed after finding out that Puck was bringing his sister along too.

He wanted to bond with her since he might have to put up with her when he and Blaine got married- _hmm, was he thinking too far? He hoped he hadn't._

Laella leant against the deckchair with Kurt on the chair beside her and Brittany and Santana together on the other. Brittany had been drawn to her dolphin and her other dolphin's sister, and was asking Laella awkward questions about what Blaine and Kurt did in the bedroom. Santana was winking at her, her head on Brittany's shoulder as she convinced Laella to spill the beans. "Besides, your hobbit brother wouldn't know."

"But his boyfriend would." Kurt replied coolly from the other deckchair.

As he closed his magazine and looked over at the three girls, he smiled reassuringly at Laella. "Don't worry. Santana's always like that. You just got to get used to her. It might be useful since you're transferring to McKinley after the summer."

After the Anderson parents had come back from their business trip and Kurt had gone home- Laella swore that if she ever heard that damn Teenage Dream song one more time…- they have had a family gathering and told Laella that she would be transferring with Blaine to McKinley because they apparently needed more sibling bonding time and Blaine had not found a girlfriend yet.

Apparently, they managed to block out the memory of their second son coming out to them last year.

However, they didn't know about Kurt either. Blaine did a happy dance when he called Kurt that Laella secretly filmed for blackmailing purposes.

"Are you joining Glee club?" Quinn came over and noticing Laella, smiled at her.

Laella shrugged. "I'm not that good at singing…"

Kurt snorted. "Don't lie, Anderson. You've definitely inherited the singing gene from your brother." Kurt still knew he sang better than Laella, but one day when he was hanging out at Blaine's house, he had walked in on her playing the piano, singing Ours by Taylor Swift to her boyfriend Cameron on Skype.

"Fine… don't blame me once the windows start cracking and the foundation of the building collapse."

As Brittany squealed and hugged her little 'elf' –Laella made a mental note to get back at Blaine for suggesting that horrendous nickname- Quinn looked over at Kurt. "Your boyfriend's been looking for you, Kurt. I think he wants you to get wet." She and Santana smirked. "And then you two will have a hot make-out session…"

"What? How about no! I'm not ruining my hair!" Kurt protested. "And no, Santana, that's not going to happen." He glowered at the latina who merely smiled knowingly.

"Think of the eyes, Kurt. The only option for you is to run as far away as you can so he can't enchant you." Quinn suggested, grinning.

"Good point."

"KURT! Kurt, Kurt, Kurtie, let's swim!" Blaine bounced over on his heels and tried to drag Kurt away from his Vogue. He turned on his puppy eyes full-force.

"Run, Kurt; run!" Laella quipped looking at how Kurt was weakening.

Kurt did run as fast as he could without getting too much of the warm summer heat and Blaine sported that puppy grin as he ran after him. Of course, Blaine managed to catch up and grabbed Kurt by the waist.

And, while the Unholy Trinity plus one amused Anderson watched, Blaine pulled Kurt along despite Kurt's violent protests and jumped in the pool, pulling the struggling one along.

Santana smirked. "Ten bucks they start making out, Q."

Quinn grinned. "I rather not take my chances."

Laella shook her head. "Please, not again."

It was a good thing Quinn chose wisely, because it was exactly what they did five minutes later after a sopping and fuming Kurt rose from the water with a gel-no-more Blaine coming up after him. Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt's neck, spinning him around and kissing him. And apparently Kurt started to deepen it.

"Get some!" Puck and Santana wolf-whistled and cat-called, high-fiving each other.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." Quinn grinned when she saw Laella groan and look away, having seen _too much_. "Are you getting into the pool?"

"Nope, I don't think it looks like a good idea. Anyway, I'm going to get some soda. See you later." Laella smiled and got up from the deckchair. Brittany pouted as her little elf left and Santana winked at Quinn, scheming something. Meet the Unholy Trinity.

Santana got up and walked towards the pool, sitting by the edge of the pool and basically hummed 'I Just Had Sex' long enough for Kurt and Blaine to break apart, blushing. "Oi, hobbit, listen up."

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><p>"Hey Laella!"<p>

The girl smiled as Mercedes approached her at the snack table. "Um, hi! What's up?"

"You're not getting in there? We're going to play water polo."

Laella winced. "Sorry, Mercedes, I think I'll pass. I'm never that good in sports. Besides, my height doesn't help." She sighed, walking with Mercedes back towards her deckchair.

"WHOOO!"

Laella let out a high-pitched scream as she was tackled by a quick blur- into the pool, screw her position and thank goodness she was not holding anything. As she resurfaced, the first thing she saw was her brother laughing.

"BLAINE CARTER! Kurt! I seek your permission to kill your boyfriend!" she yelled towards Kurt, who was beside her in an instant. She looked down at her clothing, which was totally drenched and sticking to her. Thank goodness it was not translucent.

"Oh, I think permission would be granted in this special case." Kurt murmured, running his hand through his now messed-up hair. Now Mike was the one yelling, "RUN BLAINE RUN!" as Blaine took off, followed by the two people who most likely would not want to mess up their clothes or hair.

Finally, Laella, being the better swimmer, tackled Blaine. Kurt arrived soon after and pulled Blaine up, laughing good-naturedly.

"Water polo, guys!"

And Laella thought, as she was forced to join the games since she was in the water, _I might fit into this family after all._

Kurt groaned as he was halfway down the hallway of the Fabray house. Crap. He had forgotten to keep his lotion. Now he would have to go back.

The party had ended at around eight. It would have been later, but most of the partygoers had to go home for their curfew (and god knows why the curfews had to be so early in _summer_). Kurt had stayed back to help to clean up and had bathed at Quinn's house after dinner. Blaine and Laella had stayed behind because Blaine wanted to drive Kurt home, the ever gentleman.

He carefully knocked on the door of the bathroom. "Er… is anyone in there?"

He suddenly heard a yelp, and then some noises. The door crept open. "Hey Kurt, I was just leaving." Laella smiled, her right hand on her shoulder. She quickly walked past him.

Laella walked round the corner, and sighed deeply in relief. Damn, I need to ask Quinn for a bandage, she thought.

She removed her hand and replaced the number of tissues that had been placed against a fresh cut to blot the blood.

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><p><strong>R &amp; R! <strong>


	5. Chapter 5: McKinley

**Hi!**

**So, it's Laella's first day at McKinley!**

**I admit, it's not a good chapter. But I had to put in a 'Welcome to Mckinley' chapter, right? It seemed right. But read on, I guess.**

**-JessC**

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><p>Chapter 5: McKinley<p>

"Oh My God. Kurt. Kurt. _Kurt_. Your boyfriend is freaking out and won't leave his blazer."

Laella silently rolled her eyes as she explained Blaine's predicament on the phone to Kurt. She had to rely on Blaine for a ride to McKinley, and if Blaine doesn't sort out his priorities, they could be late. For their first day at McKinley High, where people are more likely to judge you- according to Kurt and Mercedes' horror stories about the school. Thank goodness they lived far away, so they had to get ready early so that they most likely will not be late.

"Ugh…" she could hear Kurt sigh, "let me talk to him."

She passed the phone to her mumbling brother and rocked back and forth on her heels, waiting.

"KURTIE! Yeah, yeah, uh huh…. But my blazer! What, really? Oh… er… I'M COMING KURT!" she watched as Blaine turned from that Moaning Myrtle in the closet with the blazer to puppy. "Smurf! What are you doing just standing there? We got to move! Quickly! To the car!"

Laella stared at her brother's disappearing back. She quickly picked up the phone Blaine had dropped during his excitement, and asked, "So… Kurt, what exactly did you promise him?"

She could hear Kurt choking in the background. "I don't think you want to know."

_Oh._

She told Kurt she would see him later unless Blaine got them into a car accident with his excitement and hung up before Blaine could break anything in the house.

They pulled up into the school car park, where Kurt was waiting next to his Navigator. He gave Blaine a kiss on the cheek and Laella a hug as they got out of the car and headed to the general office together.

Laella sighed with realization as she received her timetable. Why did it take so long for her to realize that the other members of the New Directions were definitely _not_ sophomores? That means… - she groaned quietly- she would have to start over and make new friends.

Kurt noticed her brooding and shot her a smile over comparing timetables with Blaine. "Hey, don't worry, you're going to be a hit with the current sophomores!"

"Easy for you to say- you have the same homeroom, same French class and the same Chemistry class with each other! I, on the other hand, am Mr. Awkward 's illegitimate child."

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Smurfy…" he quickly ruffled Laella's hair, earning a death glare from the girl in question, "it'll be fine. You have Puck on speed dial?" Laella nodded. Puck had promised to 'beat the living crap out of any assholes who dare lay a freaking finger' on the siblings after finding out about their transfer. "We have the same lunch period, so we'll meet you then."

Laella took a deep breath as they stopped outside her homeroom. "Bye." She waved to the couple, who waved back and walked off. She watched as Blaine looked around before putting an arm around Kurt's shoulders, and smiled.

Maybe if they could survive the day, she could too.

* * *

><p><em>Ugh.<em>

Maybe not.

Laella shuffled her feet out of her French class. So far, she hadn't been slushied, thrown in a dumpster or have been called weird names, but it sucked not having any friends. People have seemingly formed into cliques in middle school and in freshman year, and Laella felt intimidated by the closed-off groups. _It used to be the opposite in Austin_, she thought. Everyone and anyone were friends with each other.

She reached her locker to put back her books and to wait for Kurt. Suddenly, her phone vibrated.

_Heyy beautiful. It's the first day of school and I miss you so much. Elena and Jake say hi by the way. Did you know they're FINALLY dating? Took Jake long. I shouldn't write more, he'll kill me. Hope you're having a good time at McK. I love you. –Cam_

Laella had to smile. Sending messages from Colorado to Ohio had to be expensive, so the couple had to rely on Skype to keep in touch. Cameron's family wasn't as rich as the Andersons, so for him to send that message, it meant a lot for her. Sometimes, she just loved the boy.

_Hi. (: McK's fine, I guess, just gotta get used to it. It's totally different from Austin. I'm getting into Glee! Wish me luck! Tell Elena it's about time. I love you too. –Lae_

She jumped when a presence hovered over her locker and quickly shut her phone. "Could you not give me a heart attack on the first day of school?" she hissed.

"Sorry, you were too absorbed." Blaine grinned as he leaned back. He swung the hand that was holding Kurt's while he put his other hand on her shoulder. "Let's move, I'm hungry." He pulled Kurt along. Kurt shook his head at Blaine and grinned sheepishly at Laella. "And you put up with this for 15 years."

"Kurt. Fooood."

The other two followed him with a mere affectionate roll of the eyes.

* * *

><p>"Do I <em>have<em> to audition?"

Laella was freaking out. Sure, at lunch, she was pretty fine, but minute by minute she had gotten a bit more nervous. What if she forgot her lyrics? What if…?

"Well, it's standard procedure." Quinn patted her on the back. She noticed how the younger Anderson was still stunned. "Jeez, Lae. You'll be fine!" she snorted and smiled. "Didn't you see how Blaine auditioned? At that time, I thought all Andersons were like that."

"No, they aren't. I preferred, at that moment, to look away and pretend that I didn't know him."

Blaine had suddenly broke out into song- the song particularly being It's Not Unusual- in the McKinley courtyard. _(ooc: You should know how it went- almost like The Purple Piano Project) _Laella had buried her head in her hands when he started eyesexing Kurt and, for once, was glad no one knew her except for the people in New Directions.

"But you heard him. Ah, now that's different. Just go and stun _us_."

Laella gulped and nodded.

When everyone had settled down, and Mr. Schuester had given the cue to begin, Laella immediately grabbed the guitar and played, pretending that she was alone in her room again and no one was in the house except herself only.

_If I die young, bury me in satin_

_Lay me down on a bed of roses_

_Sink me in the river at dawn_

_Send me away with the words of a love song_

_Lord make me a rainbow, I'll shine down on my mother_

_She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors_

_Oh, and life ain't always what you think it ought to be, no_

_Ain't even gray, but she buries her baby_

Blaine grinned and gave his sister a thumbs-up. Who said there was only one artistically inclined kid in each family? It was he himself who had taught her how to play the guitar. He was a spunky 10 year old at that time, and she was a tiny 8 year old who had memorized Seasons Of Love before he had.

In the meantime, he wondered why she had chosen this song of all songs.

_The sharp knife of a short life_

_Well, I've had just enough time_

_If I die young, bury me in satin_

_Lay me down on a bed of roses_

_Sink me in the river at dawn_

_Send me away with the words of a love song_

_The sharp knife of a short life_

_Well, I've had just enough time_

_And I'll be wearing white when I come into your kingdom_

_I'm as green as the ring on my little cold finger_

_I've never known the loving of a man_

_But it sure felt nice when he was holding my hand_

_There's a boy here in town, says he'll love me forever_

_Who would have thought forever could be severed by_

_The sharp knife of a short life_

_Well, I've had just enough time_

Laella closed her eyes momentarily as she sung. It wasn't easy leaving Austin, because how can you walk up to your boyfriend who you loved very much to say, "Hey, I'm not coming back next year."? It really hurt not being able to hug and cuddle with the boy you loved as convenient as before.

_So put on your best, boys, and I'll wear my pearls_

_What I never did is done_

_A penny for my thoughts, oh no, I'll sell 'em for a dollar_

_They're worth so much more after I'm a goner_

_And maybe then you'll hear the words I been singing_

_Funny, when you're dead how people start listening_

She hoped people would notice what was going on in her mind. Well, she was still not sure whether she would. Unwanted attention was what she didn't need and want right now.

_If I die young, bury me in satin_

_Lay me down on a bed of roses_

_Sink me in the river at dawn_

_Send me away with the words of a love song_

_The ballad of a dove_

_Go with peace and love_

_Gather up your tears, keep 'em in your pocket_

_Save them for a time when you're really gonna need them, oh_

_The sharp knife of a short life_

_Well, I've had just enough time_

_So put on your best, boys_

_And I'll wear my pearls_

All of New Directions immediately applauded as loudly as possible, even Rachel, who did so grudgingly. Laella beamed as she took it all in. "Welcome to New Directions!"

* * *

><p><strong>R &amp; R!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6: Skype

**Cameron makes an appearance in this episode! (: Enjoy!**

**-JessC**

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: Skype<p>

It was 11pm at night and most of the occupants of the Anderson household were asleep. However, there was a light coming from one of the rooms. If you open the door, you will be hit by the sight of an untouched tray of cold food on the dresser. You might have thought to yourself why would someone put food on the dresser of all places, when you look towards the only table in the room and realize why.

A laptop was on the study table, humming softly as a website on World War I was opened up in the screen. A thick history book was face up on a lap and the person was scribbling furiously into a page of their blue notebook. Staggering piles of paper and worksheets filled up the empty spaces.

However, despite how hard the person appeared to be working, they still looked worse for the wear as they nodded off from time to time.

Laella rubbed her eyes wearily as she glanced at the clock. She was supposed to be asleep an hour ago. Or at least, she wished she was.

_History teachers and their stupid freaking essays, _she thought savagely, resting her head on her forehead as she struggled to understand the question.

Her train of thought was interrupted and she jumped in her seat when she saw a notification coming from her Skype window. _Call from Cameron Bryant_, the screen beeped happily, as if knowing about the relationship between the two behind the screens.

_Call?_ Laella smiled slightly and clicked 'Answer'. Once her boyfriend's beautiful face popped up on her screen, she tilted her head. "Cam, it's 2am over there. What the hell are you doing not in bed?"

"Hey babe. I miss you."

She put down her notebook, leaning closer to the screen. She could use a little rest anyway. "I miss you too, but you still haven't answered my question."

"Well, I fell asleep when I got home from school this afternoon and slept for 4 hours, so I'm wide awake now." Cameron grinned. He took in the drooping eyes of his girlfriend. "I should be asking you that question, though."

"History sucks!"

Cameron laughed. "You never used to have this problem at Austin. You loved history."

"Well, McKinley just made it unbearable." Laella held up the assignment she had written in class on Friday. "Look, 2 essays in 3 days! I don't think even you can handle it. I only started it today. It's due tomorrow and it's graded. I'm screwed if I don't finish it today."

"And why didn't you try to finish it yesterday?"

"Er…" Laella looked away, before hearing his soft laugh and whipping back to face the screen. "Cameron! Stop that!"

"Sorry, you looked so adorable when you're sleepy." Cameron grinned again as he saw a blush creeping up Laella's neck.

"Fine. I was Christmas shopping with the girls and Kurt."

"Did you get me anything?" Cameron leaned closer until his forehead touched the computer screen.

"Who said I did?" Laella teased playfully. "I may have forgotten someone with the certain initials of C. D. B…" she smirked as her boyfriend pouted and tried to act hurt. "Okay, fine, I'll send it over by Christmas Eve." Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door. "Be right back, sweetie." She got up and opened the door to a little crack.

"Oi, smurf, aren't you going to bed? It's 11 freaking 30 now." Blaine pushed open the door and walked in. "What are you doing-oh, er… hi." He noticed Cameron looking curiously at the commotion. "Who the hell are you?"

"Blaine! Be nice." Laella sighed. "That's Cameron."

Blaine nodded with a soft 'oh' and promptly took up Laella's chair. "So, introductions."

"Blaine Anderson!" Laella groaned. She needed that to _finish her last essay_. She would fall asleep on her bed, so she didn't even think of trying that. Besides, she was too tired to tackle him off, and it was a good chance for the two boys to get along and get to know each other. "Fine, hobbit, I'll take your room, spam Kurt from your phone, eventually waking him up, and pretend they were all from you."

Blaine narrowed his eyes at her. "Please don't do that. But just 10 minutes. Please?" He suddenly pouted and widened his eyes.

_Crap._

"Fine. Cam, just tell me later if he annoys you. Blaine, if I ever hear one threat from him, I will burn your blazers." Laella mouthed an "I love you." to Cameron before snatching her history textbook and notebook and walking out.

* * *

><p>An awkward silence filled the room as the door closed.<p>

"Okay, I'm older, youngsters first." Blaine turned and faced the screen. "Give me introductions. How did you meet my sister, how did you two get together, and what does she see in you?"

Cameron gulped. He did not expect to be confronted by overprotective brother Anderson at 2am at night. He silently wished Laella was here, but Blaine might think he was too much of a wimp to continue to be with her if he couldn't sit peacefully with her brother.

"Er… we met in 6th grade when the teacher assigned our tables together and got together in freshman year. We got together because I accidentally overheard a conversation with her and her friend Elena about… me. I don't know what she sees in me, honestly, I'm just a hockey player, while she's all versions of perfect and adorable and beautiful and…" He rambled off, stammering slightly as he watched Blaine's face waiting for him to spit it all out. "Don't kill me." He whispered meekly. _So much for not being a wimp, Bryant._ He scolded himself.

Blaine broke into a small smile. "Fine. You seem like a gentleman. Let me remind you… Bryant, that she has two brothers. One's in college, one's gay. Do you have a problem about that?"

"No… Lae already told me about you and your boyfriend."

"Good." Blaine sat up a little straighter. "I will not hesitate to get out Kurt's sai swords if you freaking make her cry over anything. Got that?"

"Y-yes. Blaine- is that your name? - If I ever hurt her, I offer myself to you as sacrifice. I honestly love her."

Blaine smiled genuinely. "Okay," he said, dropping the overprotective brother façade, "can I ask you- did she face any problems or people in Austin? She's been a little different since she came back."

He refused to let the matter rest. That movie night had only lowered his suspicions by a little bit, and he was getting worried seeing that Laella hadn't been making that many friends since arriving at McKinley.

Cameron shook his head confusedly. "No… the only problem I know of her is that she almost failed Physics in 7th grade and cried about it."

Blaine rolled his eyes. It was _so Laella _to be freaking out over a B. "Good." He paused for a moment, then added, "Can I add you on here? I need to ask you something."

* * *

><p>Blaine walked into his room and found Laella slumped over on his table. Her pen was rolled over and on the ground, and her notebook was laid open on the table.<p>

He smiled and carried her up, walking her to her bedroom. Thank goodness Cameron had to sleep since his mother screamed at him to. He tucked her in to bed and laid her textbook and notebook on her desk.

Okay, maybe his footsteps were a bit too loud. Laella stirred and she opened her eyes wearily.

"I fell asleep? But I'm not done with it yet! Mrs. Lawrence's going to kill me!" she tried to stand up, but her vision blurred and she stumbled. Blaine quickly rushed over and tried to push her back to bed.

"No. You're going to sleep. I'm the older one here. I don't want a dead person on my hands. You've skipped dinner already, which means it's getting serious because I've never seen you _not eat_ dinner before. Besides, I can convince Mrs. L about giving you a few more days. I've been her favorite student ever since I managed to get the highest in the first test of the semester." Blaine grinned.

"Ugh, you freaking-" Laella groaned as her head hit the pillow. However, sleep _was_ for the weak, and she mumbled and turned to the side, fast asleep within seconds.

Blaine rolled his eyes. _I always win._ He then planted a kiss on her forehead before walking out, turning off the light and closing the door quietly.

Laella didn't need much help from her brothers. She was alright on her own.

And she had a good eye for finding a capable boyfriend.

* * *

><p><strong>I needed a little overprotectivebrother!Blaine. (:<strong>

**R & R!**


	7. Chapter 7: Elections

**I think…**

**This is the only chapter that will coincide with the show itself. Oops.**

**This is based on the episode, "Mash-Off". Before you ask, I'm not on Team Finn or Team Santana. I kinda try to stay away from the drama. Enjoy.**

**-JessC**

* * *

><p>Chapter 7: Elections<p>

"That's it, Kurt. You've got this in the bag."

Kurt sighed put a hand to his head. "No, I don't. I never knew it will get this stressful. Look at Brittany. She'll win. She already has all those boys lining up to see her topless."

Blaine got up from the bed and pulled Kurt to his chest. "Aw, don't worry, babe, I'm sure you'll convince them otherwise. Sooner or later they'll realize it."

"Guys?"

Laella rushed into the room, holding her phone in her hand and waving it about. "Oh- sorry to ruin the moment, but this is important. Make sure you're sitting down."

"What can be so important? Rachel finally destroyed the hearing drums of my dear step-brother?"

Laella stared at Kurt for a moment, and then continued. "One word, two syllables. Dodgeball. Your _dear _step-brother confronted Santana in the hallway. And that's what's going to happen on Wednesday afternoon before the mash-off the next day."

"Finn Hudson?" Kurt got up, fuming. "And just when I thought…. I need to prepare for my speech! I don't have time for this!"

"How did you find out?" Blaine frowned as he took the phone from his sister, the phone flashing the official McKinley New Directions group page on Facebook.

"Rory was there too. He had to pass the message and I was the only one online at that time."

Kurt groaned and leant against Blaine as the latter put his arm around him. "I can't believe this. I will _not _bring him his milk tonight."

"Aww shucks, Kurt. At least I'll get to see you in shorts."

"And you too, sir." Kurt tilted his head to one side and observed his boyfriend's body.

"And this is the moment when I leave." Laella stealthily took the phone from Blaine's hand and quietly left the room as the couple leaned closer to each other.

* * *

><p>"Gather around, ND!"<p>

The 10 other remaining members of the New Directions circled Finn as he took charge of the proceedings of the dodgeball game. "Okay, first of all, we have more members, so we pretty much have a slight advantage over them."

"But this is Santana you're talking about." Laella rolled her eyes.

"Well- still! Just kick some ass."

Brittany walked over to the stereo and started the music as the two groups dispersed.

Laella was never a sports fanatic. But she didn't want to get bruises all over her by those darn dodgeballs. The Andersons kids bonded over dodgeball- or in particular, throwing things at each other to 'express their love'. It got more fun, though, when she played with her closest friends at this school.

The game ended, with the Troubletones jumping up and down in victory and Finn trying to stay calm over their loss. Laella walked over to Rory. "Was it fun?"

"Hey Laella. I guess, me old school din't have this game, but ah guess ah 'ad fun-" Rory replied in his Irish accent, the two walking towards Finn before he was cut off by many balls hitting his body.

_Well, at least before all the balls came hurtling towards two people_, Laella thought.

Laella wasn't standing very close either, but as the balls bounced off a cowering Rory, she didn't have time to duck. A ball hit her head and she fell to the ground, wincing with the searing pain that continued with the hit.

"Stop it!" she heard Kurt yell as he rushed over to Rory. She felt hands on her shoulder but couldn't open her eyes.

"Lae- oh my god." She heard Quinn whisper and as her hand brushed over Laella's arm, the latter let out a slight yelp and opened her eyes a fraction. "Quinn! That hurt!" "Sorry!"

During her fall, she had grazed her arm, and another ball had incidentally made its way towards the exact spot, making the spot look even bloodier.

She looked around. The glee clubbers were mostly too shocked to move, but Blaine was rushing over to her and Kurt was angrily confronting Santana.

"Maybe this is how the others treat us around here, but we don't do this to each other. We're better than this. This game is over." Kurt got up, helping Rory up.

"Was it Santana? I swear…" Blaine was blinded with anger as he helped his sister up, eyes darting from Kurt and Rory to Mercedes walking over with genuine concern in her eyes.

"It was that bad? I'm so sorry…" Mercedes started, before Blaine cut her off. "The damage has already been done. Why don't you just go back to your_ club_." Blaine burst out in a spark of anger before leading the way to the bleachers. Laella turned around before Blaine could see her do so and mouthed "It's okay," to a troubled-looking Mercedes. Quinn turned to Blaine. "Mercedes didn't mean it. She didn't even throw any of those balls, Blaine. Don't let your anger get to you."

Before Blaine could say anything, Laella cut him off. "Yeah, seriously, Blaine. It's not her fault."

Blaine sighed. He was letting his father affect his temper, of all people to mess with his emotions. Looking at the unreadable expression in Laella's eyes, he knew that she knew. "Let's just check on Kurt and Rory."

They walked over to the same bench Kurt was taking care of Rory on. Laella sat down next to Rory and winced as an ice pack was brought to her temple. "You okay, Rory?" she whispered.

Rory just sighed and nodded.

The rest of the New Directions, recovering from the shock, gathered around the two of them. "Sorry, guys, I didn't expect that to happen. And I actually ran away." Finn groaned in anguish.

Laella simply looked up at him. "Next time you want a competition, Finn? No. More. Dodgeball."

Finn smirked at her. "Consider that done." There was a pause. "We still have to rehearse, though."

He was only met with groans in reply.

* * *

><p>"What did you just say to her?"<p>

Laella snapped out of her Troubletones-induced trance and thoughts of _ND is so screwed_ when she heard Santana leap of the stage and confront Finn, who had been whispering to Rachel the entire performance.

"I said I thought you were great."

"No, you're lying."

That was when Laella started to worry. News of the outing wasn't exactly kept under closed doors, and within 24 hours everyone in the school, or at least those in Laella's homeroom, knew about Santana's alleged (but true) sexuality. She glanced sideways at Kurt. He watched his stepbrother and Santana converse, a contemplative look on his face.

"What are you talking about-?"

The echo of the slap rang across the auditorium, leaving 18 students and 2 teachers stunned into disbelief as Santana ran out of the room. Finn reeled from the slap, still holding his hand to his cheek in shock.

Kurt broke the silence by standing up. "I'll go after her." He said to the rest in the room as Brittany disappeared through the door.

"I'm coming with you." Blaine tapped Laella on the shoulder to follow them and the two siblings ran out after Kurt.

The trio arrived to the sounds of Santana's soft sobs in the choir room. "I'm not ready."

Kurt slowly rounded the corner. "Santana?"

"Go away, you wouldn't understand anything." Santana looked up and snapped.

"Satan- Santana, if you would just listen to me! Have you forgotten that two years ago I was in the same position as you were? And let me remind you I didn't have anyone who was willing to help me!" Kurt wasn't willing to break her even further, but he had to knock some sense into her.

"Sorry." Santana sighed guiltily.

"Look, San, my parents aren't the most accepting ones either." Blaine and Laella shared a knowing look. "But we still managed to put up with them. Let us help you. We've been through this." Blaine shared a glance with Kurt before facing Santana again.

Santana looked at them for a moment. "Fine."

* * *

><p>Kurt reached home and collapsed on his bed with a weary sigh. It was after the election speeches that he had to endure through. <em>Over, finally,<em> He thought as he set out his homework on his study table. He had an inkling of who the school was going to support, but at least he tried.

He opened up his Algebra 2 book and got to work for an hour before closing his book in frustration. _Whatever, _he thought savagely_, at least it isn't due tomorrow._ The symbols in the book looked like Greek to him.

Kurt rubbed his eyes. Maybe he was getting too stressed with his campaign. Sleep was probably the best medicine now.

As he got out of his chair, he spotted a piece of paper lying on the floor. Maybe it fell out of his History book when he carried the pile of books to his table. He opened up the note so that he would know where to slot it in.

Turns out, it was a note, but it wasn't for History.

_Watch your back, fag. All because Karofsky's gone doesn't mean you can strut in this school and sprinkle your fairy dust everywhere._

Kurt froze. It took him five minutes to collect himself and think rationally. He instinctively reached for his iPhone to contact Blaine when…. Wait.

What if he was over-reacting? Maybe it was put there just to scare him. He shouldn't run scared to someone else all because some _meanie_- Kurt smirked to himself for using that word- decided to scare the gay out of him.

Kurt simply shoved the note inside his dresser and went to bed.

* * *

><p><strong>R &amp; R! <strong>


	8. Chapter 8: Christmas

**It might still be early December for everyone, but over here, ND is having the festive spirit!**

**Ethan makes a special appearance in this chapter! (:**

**Oh, I am SO SO SO SO SORRY I didn't update last week! My family went overseas for a holiday and I didn't manage to get much internet connection so my 'punishment' for not doing so was missing lots of riots on Tumblr. Don't hate me. x.x**

**-JessC**

* * *

><p>Chapter 8: Christmas<p>

Time has passed really swiftly. It only seemed like yesterday that she had gotten down from her plane at the airport in Ohio.

A snowball to the window woke Laella up as she struggled not to leave the _mmm, so warm_ bed with all its comforters and pillows. She glanced at the calendar. _Oh my, it's Christmas Eve already_, she smiled slightly as she got out of her bed to confront the intruder.

"Oi! Laella Amelyn Anderson! Get down from there you lazy bones!"

Laella shuffled in her bunny slippers and threw open the window, only to receive a late snowball to her face. "What, Blaine Carter Anderson?" she yelled to her laughing brother in the courtyard, wiping the excess snow from her face. "Let me remind you that I'm not the morning person and I'm closer to burning your blazers than you are to save them!"

"Spoilsport!" Blaine grinned as he prepared another snowball to hit his sister. Laella ducked just in time. "Kurt's coming over soon!" he yelled back, bouncing on his heels before falling over in the soft snow and starting to make a snow angel.

_And he is two years older than me._ Laella rolled her eyes as she shrugged on her coat. She checked her phone on her desk for any new text messages.

_Laella! Remember to get Blaine Warbler over to BrittBritt's house for the party later! Love ya girl! –'Cedes_

And

_Merry Christmas Eve! I love you. Remember to check your mail! - Cam xx_

She smiled as she raced downstairs to challenge her brother to a snowball war.

* * *

><p>Blaine was pretending to sleep when she got there. Laella smirked and knelt down to make a snowball.<p>

"Wow… what year is it?" Blaine was jolted awake by a really, really cold substance hitting smack on his face.

"The year 1942, and you better run because World War II is about to start." Laella ran behind a tree to hide from her brother's return to planet Earth.

There was no response for a moment, and Laella quietly peered over from the tree she was hiding from. Where the hell was Blaine-

"Run! The enemy soldiers are here! Run for your life, my lady!"

Laella let out a high-pitched scream as she was tackled backwards, crushing Blaine underneath as she hit the soft and cold bedding of snow. Blaine laughed as both of them crashed into the snow and Laella rolled away from him, getting up with a glower on her face. "I'm pretty sure they are, Anderson."

"Kids?"

Their mother peeked her head outside the back door. "I think you two would want to find out who just stopped by."

Blaine and Laella looked at each other incredulously.

Out of sheer curiosity and a small thought of 'I think I know who', they raced each other back to the house.

* * *

><p>Laella stopped outside the entrance to the living room and peered in. There was a well-built man sitting on the couch, reading the newspapers. Blaine skidded and almost knocked Laella to the ground (again) due to her sudden stop. "Geez, what are you doing?"<p>

The man suddenly perked up, as if just sensing their presence in the room, and turned around. Laella's suspicions were confirmed.

"Ethan!" she squealed, running forward and into the arms of her 20 year old brother.

"Lae!" Ethan stumbled back a little with the force of his sister's embrace. He grinned as Blaine stepped into the room. "Hey guys. Anything happen in the household when I was away?"

"This little girl here got a boyfriend."

"And that hobbit who's only 2 years older than me has one too."

"Wow, too much information!" Ethan laughed. He motioned for them to sit at either sides of him and they did. "Okay, Laella- give me the details."

Glaring at the smirk from Blaine, Laella replied. "He's Cameron. We met at Austin. Blah blah blah, what do you actually want me to say? You haven't met him yet."

Ethan nodded. "Soon, okay? Alright, Blaine. Please don't tell me that boyfriend of yours is another curly-haired dude like you."

Blaine smiled. "Kurt. He's beautiful and perfect and dreamy…"

"Ethan! He's being lovesick again."

"Shut up, smurfy."

"Guys!" Ethan snorted. _Welcome back home,_ he guessed. "Boyfriend?" he lowered his voice. "Blaine, have you told mom and dad?"

Laella sighed. "Don't you remember last year? Apparently our dear _accepting_ parents would never remember _that_. The whole reason Blaine's now at McKinley's because they want to be introduced to someone of the opposite sex."

There was a significant awkward silence.

"Let's not bring this up. It's Christmas Eve." Ethan was the first to break the ice, putting his arms around his siblings. "Make it a good Christmas for once."

The two nodded silently as they rested near the roaring fire of the fireplace.

"Oh yeah, guys, guess what? I'm coming back for good."

* * *

><p>"Hey guys!" Mercedes beamed as she pulled Kurt, Blaine and Laella into a hug. "You're late."<p>

"Sorry!" Kurt apologized profusely. "Laella froze when she received her boyfriend's Christmas gift and it took half an hour to revive her."

"You-"

Mercedes laughed as they walked into her house. "We're waiting for you. Come on! Blaine, Puck brought along an Xbox and-" she was interrupted by the yelling from the living room. "You get the picture. And the two of you-"she looked towards Kurt and Laella, "we're baking cookies for the ravenous T-Rexes and basically for ourselves too for the gift giving session later."

As Blaine went to join the guys, Mercedes led them to the kitchen, where…. Basically no one was making an effort in baking. They were mostly deterred by Brittany, who insisted on not 'killing those poor baby chicks.'

"Britt, they aren't made with a papa chicken, so there most likely won't be any little chicks inside."

"I'm so confused…"

But just when Brittany's back was turned, Quinn quickly cracked the few eggs left in the carton. She waved at Laella as Laella made to join her, Kurt busy trying to explain the principles to Brittany.

After successfully convincing Brittany, the batches of cookies were baking in the oven, some earlier batches being set to cool. The girls went to the dining room to rest.

"Er… guys? Why are the boys so quiet? Are they dead or…" Laella was the first to break the tired silence.

This time, everybody noticed and they slowly straightened themselves up on their chairs. "If they broke my house while fighting each other, I will not show any mercy." Mercedes stood up.

"Ooh, scary 'Cedes."

* * *

><p>When they rounded the corner to the living room, it wasn't to find a broken vase. It was to find the boys standing in a line, Puck and Artie with guitars. Santana just nodded knowingly and joined them.<p>

"Okay, what is going on?"

Without replying to Quinn, Puck started strumming on the guitar, simply smirking at her. Laella's eyes lit up at the familiar song. The boys started singing together.

_1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4_

Winking at Rachel, who blushed, Finn took over the first verse.

_Give me more lovin' than I've ever had_

_Make it all better when I'm feelin' sad_

_Tell me that I'm special even when I know I'm not_

Santana stepped forward, grabbing Brittany's hands and twirling her around.

_Make me feel good when I hurt so bad_

_Barely gettin' mad, I'm so glad I found you_

_I love bein' around you_

_You make it easy, it's as easy as 1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4_

Nodding at each other, the singers stepped aside to reveal a laptop. The initial darkness on the screen brightened to reveal a boy sitting at the screen, strumming on a guitar.

Laella's eyes widened and she gasped.

"Merry Christmas, beautiful!" Cameron smiled softly before continuing to sing with the boys, his tenor voice standing out.

_There's only one thing to do_

_Three words for you I love you_

_There's only one way to say_

_Those three words and that's what I'll do, I love you_

Blaine, while holding the remote control in one hand to act as a microphone, took Kurt by the hand and twirled him around like a waltz. Mercedes just rushed over to Sam, who was standing with Artie and Rory, linking their hands together as Sam sang with Blaine. Artie and Rory watched the happy couples around them, smiling at the joy in the room but still wishing that they had their special someone.

_Give me more lovin' from the very start_

_Piece me back together when I fall apart_

_Tell me things you never even tell your closest friends_

Puck stepped forward, gesturing for Quinn to take his hand and Quinn soon took over the chords of the song on Puck's guitar.

_Make me feel good when I hurt so bad_

_Best that I've had, I'm so glad that I found you_

_I love bein' around you_

_You make it easy, it's as easy as 1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4_

Mike stepped forward shyly, putting an arm around Tina's shoulders. Since the group had found out about Mike's singing ability, they had been shamelessly making him sing with them.

_There's only one thing to do_

_Three words for you I love you_

_There's only one way to say_

_Those three words and that's what I'll do, I love you_

_I love you_

The whole room started to blend together in song, tenor, bass, alto, soprano, and countertenor.

_1, 2, 3, 4_

_I love you_

_I love you_

* * *

><p>"Having a good Christmas Eve so far?"<p>

Laella smiled at her goofy boyfriend from behind the computer screen. "I hoped you received my gift."

"I did, and I've been listening to the songs for hours." Cameron laughed, holding up the custom-made CD that Laella made containing _their_ songs. "And you?"

Laella fingered with the necklace chain on her neck. Taking it out, a tiny heart-shaped locket was revealed. "I love it."

* * *

><p><strong>R &amp; R!<strong>


	9. Chapter 9: Sick

**As the title says, the stomach flu hits Ohio!**

**Oh, and Happy early Christmas to those who read this! Thanks for giving me motivation to continue writing!**

**I love reading stories when either Kurt or Blaine gets sick and the other takes care of them. Don't ask me why, I know it's weird, but I just squeal because it's so adorable. 3**

**-JessC**

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: Sick<p>

Blaine looked up in the living room while he was switching through the television programs on the television to see two of his favorite people walk up to him.

"Shopping trip over that soon?"

Kurt dropped his bags and snuggled into Blaine's side as the latter put his arm around him. "Tina got sick after lunch. Must be the stomach flu bug going around. Since Mercedes had to go back too, the two of us felt no point in continuing."

"I'm going up anyway. Feeling so exhausted." Laella waved at the couple before heading up.

"It's 2pm in the afternoon." Kurt stared at her retreating back for a while before shrugging and turning his attention to his boyfriend. "So, what were you watching?"

* * *

><p>"Hey, babe, can you wake up Lae? It's time for dinner and she'll strangle us with her bare hands if she misses it." Blaine asked, laying out the cutlery.<p>

"Alright." Kurt kissed Blaine on the cheek before walking up the stairs. When he reached the door, he knocked twice. "Lae?" Receiving no reply, he turned the doorknob, finding it to be unlocked. Weird. He quietly walked inside the room. "Laella…" he turned to the bed. Nothing, but there was one thing that caught his eye- the blanket was missing.

And that's when he heard the retching noises coming from the bathroom.

He immediately got worried and walked briskly towards the half-opened bathroom door. "Hey, can I come in?" A shaky whisper was all he heard. "Kurt…"

Kurt quickly pushed open the door and rushed over to the huddled figure sitting on the floor next to the toilet seat. "Oh my god, are you okay?" he asked, before mentally smacking himself. _Of course not, Kurt, what were you thinking. _

He heard a groan in reply, then the girl quickly got up to vomit once more inside the toilet bowl. Kurt held her hair back and made soothing circles with his hand on her back. He had gotten used to taking care of other people, so it felt like normal procedure to him.

Laella sighed and slumped back onto the floor, still hiding herself from view. "I look terrible, look away…" she mumbled, burying her face into the warm blanket.

"Do you honestly think I'm going to let you lie in the bathroom all day? Blaine! Come over here!" Kurt called for his boyfriend. He should know better on how to deal with a cranky little sister. "Can you get up?"

"No, just wanna stay here." Laella mumbled some more. Kurt wrapped his arms around her and she buried her head into his shoulder. She pulled away after a while though. "Go eat with Blaine; I shouldn't be ruining your time with him."

"You're the one who's at the brink of her death here and you tell me and Blaine to _enjoy_ our dinner." Kurt snorted. "No, I'm staying here until Blaine comes to help me- oh, there he is." He nodded at Blaine who had entered the room.

"Stomach flu." Blaine sighed. Without a word of warning to Laella and just a silent nod shared with Kurt, Blaine put his arms under her and lifted her up. "Blaine!" Laella protested, whimpering, but still she snuggled into Blaine's warmth. "I'm not five!"

"But you, ma'am, are not staying here." Blaine carried her into her bed. "And you're not five, that's true- you're five and a _half_."

"That's what Kurt keeps saying about you."

"Laella!"

Kurt blushed a faint pink as Blaine looked over at him incredulously. Blaine just gave him a tiny wink before draping the blanket over his sister. This was when he saw why Laella didn't want him to look at her. She looked deathly pale, even paler than himself and her eyes were bloodshot. Remembering something, he ran to the bathroom and soaked a small towel in the cold water, walking back to place it over Laella's forehead, the girl in question seeming to have fallen asleep.

"Sometimes, I wished she could take care of herself. Did you know she almost fainted once because she stayed up too late finishing her homework?" Blaine sighed and walked hand-in-hand with Kurt out of the room, dimming the lights as he went.

"You stress yourself out too much, honey." Kurt pecked Blaine on the lips, rubbing his thumb on their interlocked hands. "But after this, I think she'll know. She's not that dumb. Your brotherly instincts are kicking in."

Blaine nuzzled his head into Kurt neck, wrapping an arm around his waist. "Have I told you recently that I love you?"

Kurt just smirked and nuzzled Blaine's nose before they continued on their way back to the dining room.

* * *

><p>Kurt moaned in pain when he woke up at 7am in the morning.<p>

_Dammit, don't tell me…_

He cringed and suddenly doubled over as a jolt of pain seared through his abdomen and clutched his stomach tightly. He then bolted for the bathroom and puked out the remaining contents of yesterday's dinner at Blaine's house.

_Yup, stomach flu. _He groaned. It was good that it was Saturday, and if he recovered by Sunday, he won't miss any classes.

He quickly shot off a text to Blaine. _Take care of yourself, love, I think I got it from Lae. –K_

An hour later, he was woken up by a knock to the door- _must've dozen off, _he sighed before dragging himself wearily to the door and answering it.

"Blaine? What are you doing here?"

"What else do you think? Taking care of you!" Blaine planted a kiss on Kurt's cheek before putting an arm around his shoulders to support him and walking in.

"You have a sick sister." Kurt replied, though secretly he didn't mind Blaine coming over.

"Laella kicked me out when she found out you were sick. Something like, _go and love your boyfriend or I'll destroy your cds_. Besides, Ethan's at home."

Kurt smiled at him affectionately as he laid back onto the bed, suddenly more weary than before. Blaine quickly walked over with a damp washcloth, patting Kurt all over his face and arms with it, kissing the areas he petted when he was done.

"You'll get sick, stop it," Kurt sighed, after Blaine kissed him on the lips.

Blaine pouted but pulled away. "Can we at least cuddle and watch _Tangled_?"

"Fine."

* * *

><p>"<em>Anderson!"<em>

_It was a Friday. Laella was supposed to meet Blaine and Kurt at the car park, but she had to consult her teacher on her homework, so she was already running late. Ignoring the caller, she quickly picked up her pace. Kurt will be mad if she didn't appear soon._

_All of a sudden, she let out a yelp as she was pushed against the lockers roughly. Pulling herself to her feet, wincing, she turned into the direction of her tormentor. "What is wrong with you?" she raged at the footballer._

_Azimio shoved her left shoulder against the lockers in the empty hallway and held it there, ignoring Laella's wince of pain. "You ignored me, and now you're talking back at me, fairy? Fine, go ahead and tell that hobbit brother of yours. I'm sure he will be up against this." He gestured to himself with a short laugh._

"_P-please leave me alone." Laella whimpered, struggling against him as he leaned closer._

_Azimio shoved her against the locker again and watched as she slumped to the ground, holding her left shoulder protectively. "I'll be back." He left._

_Laella slowly got up, and ran as fast as she could to the car park. And yes, Kurt and Blaine were there, waiting for her. _

"_Hey sis, what's up? Why were you late?" Blaine walked up upon spotting her._

"_What happened to your shoulder?" Kurt whispered as he joined Blaine. Laella looked at it and saw that it was growing raw red._

"_It's n-nothing, I just walked into a door." She let out a short fake laugh, praying that they didn't ask any more questions._

"_C'mon, let's go home and put some medication on that." Blaine seemed to buy her lie and pulled her along. She followed with a quiet sigh of relief, noticing the glance of incredulity Kurt shot her and acting nonchalant about it._

Laella stirred awake and checked the timing. _What the hell, 3am?_ Then she noticed something else. She wasn't rushing out of the bed to vomit, she wasn't having hallucinations. Her fever had broken.

But then she still sighed. Why wouldn't she just forget about it? It had been two weeks, three including the week she was sick in, and he hadn't done anything. Even the library club seemed to be getting a lot more activity than the so-called Bully Whips.

But however hard she tried to forget it, it just popped up in her mind, like her mother nagging at her. _You should tell them_, it seemed to scream.

_No. I'm not letting them worry. They deserve to enjoy their senior year. I'm not being a prick by bringing up bad memories_, she snapped at her brain to just _shut up and leave me be_.

There was nothing anyone could do that could convince her otherwise.

_And, in turn, bring up mine._

Besides, she was trying to forget something eerily similar to the current situation.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh, Laella. How naïve you are.<strong>

**R & R!**


	10. Chapter 10: Threats

**Wow, my first time writing angst!**

**Silently praying it's good.**

**Also, a MILLION APOLOGIES! I know I haven't been updating weekly, but school had just started in Singapore. :/ I'll try to update as much as I can, but this year will be hectic, let me give it to you straight.**

**But nonetheless, enjoy.**

**-JessC**

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: Threats<p>

_Oh look, here we go again._

Kurt rolled his eyes as he opened the note that was lying on the bottom of his locker. Someone must have stuffed it through the slots on the locker door during lunch.

However, as he read it, he turned paler than before. Looking around to meet an empty hallway, he slumped on the floor next to the lockers.

It had never gotten this bad.

For some odd reason, his tormentor had managed to get his number, and every hour, he had received a message either telling him to 'fuck off this continent' or just simply, simply a gay-related insult.

But, reading the note in his locker, the hand holding it instinctually crushed the paper in it.

He wished Blaine would just round the corner and Kurt would just be able to spill his heart to him.

But Blaine was home, sick. Kurt knew it from the moment Blaine made the silly decision to come over every day when Kurt was down with stomach flu to bear soup, cuddles and kisses. The grumbling and complaining from Kurt that he was definitely going to get sick had fallen on Blaine's deaf ears.

And now, Kurt could say, "I told you so."

Laella was over at her classmate's house to do a project together, and she looked so happy that she had made a friend that Kurt didn't think of burdening her. Besides, it had nothing to do with her.

Kurt still had not told anyone. After all that had happened last year, he didn't want to be seen as a charity case. However, as he sneaked a glance at the message scrawled on the paper, he knew he had to tell someone. But only when he was ready.

* * *

><p>"Are you feeling better?" Kurt asked, smiling softly as he got out of the bus, and after informing Ethan of his arrival, went upstairs and knocked on Blaine's door.<p>

"Loads." Blaine replied, hugging him tightly as he greeted his boyfriend at the door. "I don't see why Ethan insists on keeping me at home. It's like keeping a grown-up in the kid's ward at the hospital. 'What the hell are you doing in there?' And what took you so long?" he whined.

Kurt laughed softly as he planted a kiss on Blaine's head. "Let's go inside. I collected your homework from Artie when we passed by during lunch today. My baby ran out of fuel- I forgot to go to the gas station yesterday, so I had to commute using public transport. Ugh." He mock-shivered.

Blaine pouted. "But I just got well! Can't we just watch a movie or something? I have the sick card to play!" He mock-glared at the small pile of worksheets in Kurt's hands.

"But I don't, sir. That's why you better catch up." Kurt was adamant on not changing his mind. "And besides….." he dropped his voice a few octaves, "we can think of a reward system."

Blaine's eyes widened comically, and he quickly took the worksheets from Kurt, sticking his tongue out at the taller boy as they walked into his bedroom.

"Are you that desperate?" Kurt teased a little as he pecked Blaine on the lips before moving to the spare chair in Blaine's room before sitting down, draping his shoulder bag on the side.

"No- but- damn it, Kurt." Blaine pouted. "I just had a boyfriend-less morning with an unemployed 22 year old routinely asking for my opinion on some of the models in his computer. Apparently in all his hormone-raged ecstasy he forgot how uninterested I looked."

"_Later_, okay? Now if you will excuse me in all _your_ hormone-raged ecstasy, I should probably get something for us to eat." Kurt kissed his boyfriend on the forehead before getting up to head to the kitchen.

Blaine sighed and took out a pen from his table. Just as he was about to start on his Algebra homework, he heard Kurt's phone buzzing on the side of the table where he had left it before getting up to leave the room. "Kurt! You have a message!" he yelled, before looking at the screen curiously. A particular 3-letter word got his attention and he quickly picked up the phone. Kurt wouldn't be mad if he saw the message… right?

_I see you haven't taken our warnings seriously. We'll be watching you, don't try to run away we'll get you, freak._

Blaine could only stare in shock. _What- But how-?_ He immediately closed the offending message and scrolled through Kurt's recently received messages, heart dropping at each bad word he saw.

5 of them have been sent just today.

_Don't have your hobbit to protect you today, huh?_

_You think that singing club actually likes you?_

Blaine read the others from the same sender, his heart dropping with each sentence.

Kurt had been hiding _all_ these?

"Hey Blaine! Can you pass me my phone- oh." Kurt's smile faltered as Blaine turned to him with that exasperated yet disappointed look on his face.

"How long?"

"H-how long what?" Kurt asked in a small voice. He placed the plate of sandwiches on the table as he walked slowly towards Blaine. He tried to act oblivious, but his heart was sinking with the thought of, _He knows._

"You know what I'm talking about." Blaine whispered, heading towards Kurt with Kurt's iPhone clutched into his hand tightly, dreading the answer, but continuing anyway.

Kurt closed his eyes, already feeling the tears prickling at his eyes. _They were right. I was weak. _"T-two months."

"Months? _Months?_ Two months, Kurt, and you never bothered to even tell me? I'm your boyfriend!" Blaine was that close to shouting.

"Blaine, please…" Kurt choked out.

"I can't believe it! You never told me! Why didn't you! This is serious! Don't you trust me or something? Don't you know how left out in the dark I feel? What else have you been hiding from me, _Kurt_?" he exaggerated the last word, getting his point across.

"I-I don't know! I thought it was a phase or something- I thought they would get over it- but I was wrong! I was wrong, okay? And now I don't know how to react! I was planning to tell you soon- preferably when you were better, but that stupid message came and you found out before I got the chance to do so! I didn't want you to worry about me either. This year wasn't supposed to be about me getting hurt." Kurt yelled, feeling himself crumble before Blaine.

"When exactly, Kurt? When?" Blaine's eyes had grown dark, not by lust this time but blinded by anger and his temper getting in the way of his common sense.

He stepped right up to Kurt, looking straight into his shining ones. He didn't know what he was doing anymore. "Is the next thing you're telling me is that you're cheating-"

"Excuse me? How dare you even accuse me of that!"

Kurt looked around wildly before running to get his shoulder bag and wrestled his phone from Blaine's hand before running out, sobbing.

"Kurt! Kurt?"

Laella stepped into the Anderson household, only to see Kurt brushing past her. He turned to her and hissed under his breath, "I'm leaving. Oh, and if you see your brother, tell him he's being an enormous prick right now."

Laella stared open-mouthed at Kurt's back before dropping her bag on the sofa in the living room and running up to her brother's room. Blaine had seemingly calmed down a little and was now pacing the floor of his room, muttering to himself.

"Blaine! I come home to Kurt crying and running out and you being in one of your prissy moods! What did the two of you fight about?" Laella gripped her brother's wrist tightly, making him stop his pacing. However Blaine struggled, he couldn't relinquish her grasp on him.

Blaine gave an angry sigh and spilled out everything that had happened that afternoon. After he had finished, he sank in his armchair with a groan, already feeling himself calm down. Laella shut her eyes for a few seconds before replying, "So, let me get this straight. Kurt's been receiving death threats, you just found out and now you're pissed off at him, you managed to scare Kurt away, and now he's wandering in Westerville without any protection whatsoever? And especially without a car- I know, I didn't see his car in the yard. Those were _death_ threats, Blaine. What did the last message say?"

_We'll be watching you, don't try to run away, we'll get you._

"Oh."

That word came out of Blaine's mouth as he struggled to comprehend what Laella was trying to imply.

"Kurt. My love is in danger."

He quickly got to his feet and ran out of the room.

_Flashing lights in different colors. Being shoved up against the wall as he moved his hands everywhere. _

_What the hell?_

Laella gasped a little as she snapped back to reality. She fingered the little scar on her index finger on her left hand.

No, this wasn't happening. She was starting to remember everything just when she thought she had blissfully forgotten about it.

She couldn't let it happen to Kurt.

She quickly ran out after Blaine.

* * *

><p><strong>Sigh. The last part looked way better in my head. But when I put it to words, it just goes all wonky. : **

**What basically happens is that Laella had a flashback about something traumatic that happened at Austin. So…. Yeah. She'll probably soon remember many short parts of the event as the story goes on.**

**R&R!**


	11. Chapter 11: Fight

**Wow.**

**Once again, apologies for the late chapter. I shall blame school.**

**But again, I apologise. This is an important school year (well, like next year and so on too), so I haven't had much time. Also, I've had writer's block for a while.**

**I hope this chapter makes up for it. Warning: violence ahead.**

**-JessC**

* * *

><p>Chapter 11: Fight<p>

"Blaine!"

Ethan rubbed his eyes blearily as he heard Laella shout from the staircase, which was unfortunately right in front of his bedroom. He trudged out and opened the door. "Will you guys shut up? I'm trying to have a lie-in." He stopped as Blaine tore past him, bumping into the banister. "Okay, now what the hell is going on?"

"Sorry bro, no time to explain." Blaine rushed out his words before regaining his balance and running down the stairs two steps at a time.

Ethan quickly rushed forward and grabbed Blaine by the arms. "Now," he said to the struggling boy in his grasp, "before you make rash decisions- and you look like you would- can someone tell me anything?"

"Kurt…" Blaine whispered. "Look, Ethan, I don't have time for this. Kurt didn't answer his phone when I called him. I-I… look, just let go of me!" He managed to break free and made a dash to the front doors before Ethan could react.

"K-Kurt's in trouble."

Ethan spun around to the shaky voice of his sister behind him.

"What kind of-"

"He's been receiving death threats, Blaine found out today, they had a fight, Kurt rushed out, the last text sounded serious, Blaine freaked, oh my god." Laella rambled in one breath.

Ethan wasn't blind. He'd seen Blaine and Kurt together too often. Lately, their parents had business trips here and there- no surprise there- and Kurt was around a lot. He had seen Kurt helping Laella with her Italian, Kurt cooking dinner with Blaine- which took a really long time when that ever happened- and that one time when he had almost walked in to Kurt and Blaine cuddled up on the couch watching Tangled in the living room one quiet evening. He hadn't seen a bigger smile, however lovesick and cavity-inducing it was, on Blaine's face since the infamous Sadie Hawkins dance whenever he snuck a glance at Kurt.

He had to admit, Kurt really made his little brother happy, and he respected that.

And it was why he immediately went into panic mode.

"Blaine?" Ethan scurried downstairs. "He's gone. Okay, Lae, stay here, call the police, and just don't do anything stupid. I'm going after him."

Laella nodded shakily. "Ethan?"

"Yeah?"

"C-Come back safely."

Ethan looked at her, and his face softened. He crossed the room to wrap his sister into a hug. "I'll bring them back safe with me, I promise."

* * *

><p>And he left.<p>

Laella did manage to call the police. It wasn't easy to convince the police as they had just received a smattering of prank phone calls that afternoon. But she guessed her choked voice and stammering did the trick, the officers promising her they would leave immediately.

Laella put the phone back and sank into the couch.

_I need to cut. _She was feeling the urge again. She had to do something- it was hard when your two siblings could be in danger.

_What is that- ouch._

She had somehow placed her arm against the sharp corner of the drawer next to the sofa. _I knew Dad was right when he said it would be a danger hazard. _

She haven't forgotten how it turned into a screaming fight.

Laella inspected her arm. Then she quickly made three more parallel cuts beside the cut.

_There goes the 2 days without cutting record._

Laella felt the tears well up in her eyes. _I won't stop this habit anyday, right? Fucking failure_, she thought, just before a phone rang.

_That's not my phone._

She noticed Blaine's phone lying on the floor.

"Blaine! Finally! I tried calling Kurt, but he's not picking up, so I assumed he would be over at your house. If you could interrupt your make-out session right-"

"Quinn."

"Oh!" the voice stopped her rambling. "Hey Lae, can you get your brother for me- are you crying? What's going on?"

"Are you free now?"

"Yeah, with San and Britt now, we can go over, we're just passing by Westerville now- San, you know the place? okay- what happened?"

"Blaine, Kurt, crazy homophobic people who sent death threats. It's been 10 minutes and they're not back yet and I'm getting worried!"

"Oh my God- we're coming, hold on. Stay on the line with us until we come over. Santana, step on it!" Quinn gasped before yelling at Santana.

7 minutes later, the doorbell rang. Laella ran to the door, praying for Ethan to answer, but was merely greeted by the three girls. "Are you bleeding?" Quinn demanded.

"Where are they?" Santana butted in before Laella could reply.

"I don't know- somewhere to the west- Quinn! I'm fine!" Laella protested as Quinn took her arm and inspected it.

"What happened?" Brittany asked.

"I-I accidentally bumped against the drawer?"

"Britt, stay here."

"Santana!" Quinn called after Santana as she disappeared outside. She groaned and turned to Laella. "We'll stay here with you."

* * *

><p><em>If you had given me a chance to explain, this would never have happened, Anderson.<em> Kurt seethed as he ignored the 5th phone call by Blaine.

He stopped at an intersection. _But, should I give him a chance to explain?_

"Hummel!"

Kurt turned and immediately froze.

"God, you're as worse as that fairy."

Azimio got closer, until he was towering over Kurt with five other beefy-looking guys beside him. "Oh look, we're in luck. No brainwashed humans by you. You're _all alone_." He leered at the last two words.

"Stay away from me." Kurt warned, hand clutching tightly to the tiny Swiss Army knife in his pocket that Finn had given him, murmuring something like, "Just in case."

"So, I was thinking, Hummel-"

"You _think_?" Kurt snorted and gave his signature eye-roll.

"If you want this to be fucking painless, you better shut the fuck up." Jared, Azimio's right-hand man ever since Karofsky transferred, piped up. Kurt flinched a little but stood his ground.

"You sent my boy Dave away." Azimio hissed and stepped up to Kurt. "You _made_ him gay, you fag."

Kurt saw red. "You do not _make_ a person gay. If he was your so-called 'boy', you would've supported him." He hissed.

"No longer my boy if he chose to be disgusting." Azimio shrugged nonchalantly.

Kurt opened his mouth indignantly, about to say something snarky, but his mind wouldn't work properly.

"You are all just cowards if you refuse to admit to something you cannot change. At least I know, one day, people are going to work for me. I'm going to be the one who bosses you around. No more of t-t-his." Kurt faltered at the last word as his personal space got invaded. He was rambling without thinking again.

"You know what? Forget the fact that I have no idea what the fuck you just said. I just need to do what I know best, fag."

Azimio slowly pulled a struggling Kurt by the collar.

And he threw him into the brick wall.

Kurt screamed as he hit the hard surface and fell to the ground, his hands cradling his bruised face.

"This is revenge."

The four other boys advanced in on Kurt, landing kicks to his back and stomach. Kurt felt his vision blur and he squirmed out of his captor's grasp and stumbled as he tried to run away, only falling to the ground, screaming in pain as his leg twisted at a funny angle.

"You see? Helpless. Pathetic."

He could almost see the smirks on the jocks' faces as they advanced on him again, despite having his eyes screwed shut with pain. This time, they didn't need to rush. He wasn't going anywhere that easily. Every movement he did incurred pain. Someone pulled him by the hair, and he was being pelted with rocks.

"Kurt!"

Wait, was that Blaine?

"Well, well, well! Look who we have here! Anderson, here to watch?"

He could hear another set of footsteps getting louder and he felt himself drop to the ground, his face turning towards the sound.

"Kurt! Oh my god, I- Kurt, please look at me-"

And Blaine's hands were on him, and he was trying to get him up. He did try, he did try to open his eyes, but they wouldn't open. He cradled his stomach and only managed to whisper, "Blaine, look out-"

But his sentence was cut off by a scream.

* * *

><p>Blaine ignored the cat-calling jocks as he rushed to his boyfriend lying on the ground covered in blood. He felt his heart break as the bruises and cuts on his beautiful face and body came under the light.<p>

And then he yelled as he was dragged roughly by the collar away from Kurt and thrown to the ground. "What do you want Azimio!"

Azimio towered over him, twirling a baseball bat in his hands. "Making sure people like you don't pollute the world anymore, maybe?" He laughed derisively. "Sooner or later I will start the revolution, where no more germs will walk this earth!"

Ooookay, maybe he's gone insane. Oh wait, Azimio's turning red. Did Blaine just say that out loud?

"What did you just say?" Oh.

Azimio raised the bat, and with one shout, drove it hard against the boy in front of him. Blaine gasped and fell as he felt the contact. And then he felt more metal objects being thrown at him, mostly dustbin lids and the bats themselves.

Kurt screamed when Blaine did, gasping a little for air as his lungs contracted. His eyes opening a tiny fraction before he had to shut them because Blaine had just been thrown into him, and both collided against the stone cold pavement. "Please, Blaine's innocent, I'm the one you're after, please, he's hurting so much…" he pleaded as Blaine writhed next to him, letting out heartbreaking whimpers and coughs.

Jared snorted. "If you insist."

Kurt suddenly felt himself being pulled up and he felt himself being held against the hood of a car. Then he was being thrown against the glass of the windshield, the glass breaking on impact. Kurt could feel the shards of glass cutting into his skin, feel the wet and uncomfortable liquid dripping down his face.

"Someone's coming. Come on!"

Jared quickly let go of Kurt, letting him fall in front of the car.

"K-K-Kurt?"

"Blaine…." Kurt groped around in the darkness. Suddenly he felt Blaine's arm and quickly gripped his hand.

"I'm here…" he croaked hoarsely, as the pain intensified, and he quickly blacked out.

Blaine strained his eyes to look into the distance. Ethan was there, he was running, they were safe now, but Kurt…

He used the last remaining energy to glance over at his love of his life.

"I love you." He managed to whisper as darkness came to get him, the shouts of his brother growing louder in his head as he slumped against the pavement, still gripping on tight to Kurt's hand.

* * *

><p><strong>R&amp;R! <strong>


	12. Chapter 12 Recovery

**Hi guys!**

**So here is the new chapter (finally)! Whew! I even wrote in school for your sakes. :p (I still listened, don't worry.) So enjoy! This is extra long compared to the previous chapters.**

**I have wanted to use A Thousand Years in this fic since I heard it, so I'm glad I managed to incorporate it somewhere. :D**

**And yes, I do know about Blaine's brother in canon being called Cooper, but I'm surely not going to change the name again. :p**

**-JessC**

* * *

><p>Chapter 12- Recovery<p>

Things were quiet and intense at the Lima Memorial.

Walk across the rows and rows of chairs in front of the reception desk, and you'd see four teenage girls huddled together. As if they were seeking for warmth.

They weren't. They were just scared.

One, in particular, was absolutely terrified. Her hazel eyes drifted every now and then to the hallway, where her brothers and good friend had disappeared. She heard the frantic whisperings of her three friends beside her, as they attempted to call up the rest to hurry over.

She didn't help. She didn't think she could talk about it without breaking.

"Lae, Brit and I are going to get some drinks. You need anything?"

A hand was on her shoulder and she looked up into the eyes of a worried Latina.

"I'm fine."

Those were her first words upon reaching the hospital. Santana had broken several speed limits in order to get there, after a phone call from Ethan arrived at the house stating their current situation. When they had arrived, they managed to catch a glimpse of the two stretchers being wheeled into the hospital.

Quinn had tried to divert Laella's attention, but it was too late. She had seen her brother; Pale white, bruises all over, bleeding from an arm. When she spotted Kurt, she couldn't hold the loud gasp that came out of her. There was so much blood…

She hadn't said anything else, just walked robotically with her eyes downcast towards the floor, ignoring the attempts from the three girls as they tried to comfort her.

Santana sighed sadly. "Let me know if you do." She mostly directed her statement towards Quinn, the latter nodding as she put an arm around Laella's shoulders.

When the pair had left, Quinn gazed over at her friend sadly. Laella was the little kid of the group (not baby, she hated being called that), even younger than Rory. So it was kind of everybody's instinct to treat her like one.

"Lae, please look at me?"

The girl reluctantly turned her glance away from the hallway.

"What, Q?"

"Just… can you just try to calm down?"

"Calm down? Calm down? My brother could be dying or who knows, he could be dead and my best friend is in there fighting for his life!"

"Lae-"

"And having to know it was some asshole Neanderthals who threatened Kurt, and the whole thing was just some freaking gay bashing, and the fact that those bastards haven't even been found yet…" Laella closed her eyes for a split second before continuing. "And the police in charge of this case are probably just taking their time because they know that it was on a pair of gays, and who knows, they might agree to it. I bet they don't even want to help us, all they think about is their religious views…"

"Laella, I'm a Christian too, you know."

"…Oh." Laella stopped her ranting. Her eyes refused to meet Quinn's, feeling a little guilty.

"Not all Christians who hate gays, you know. Sam doesn't. Mercedes doesn't. Besides, we're in the Glee club, what do you expect?"

"I've had enough of this." Laella sighed, her voice cracking a little.

She buried her face in her hands and was still. For a moment, Quinn thought she had fallen asleep, but her shoulders started trembling and she kept rubbing her eyes. Quinn let out a sympathetic sigh and pulled Laella to her side, rubbing her arm affectionately. She could feel her new shirt getting wet from the tears, but all of that was ignored. Laella shook into her arms violently, but she cried soundlessly.

Quinn didn't know how long she had been sitting there. One hour, maybe about two? Santana and Brittany came back, holding a cup of mocha for Quinn, who accepted it, without letting go of the silent girl in her arms. Brittany looked at her and nodded sadly with understanding, walking over to the chairs to lean her head on Santana's shoulders. The three girls exchanged words, deliberately not bringing up the reason they were actually there in the first place.

The entire club arrived, joined obviously by Burt and Carole. They exchanged looks of acknowledgement with each other, but none of them dared to break the silence.

Ethan stopped by the group, introducing himself to the group and talking softly with Burt and Carole before leaving again.

It had been 2 hours, 34 minutes and 15 seconds of anxious waiting before the bespectacled doctor came out. "Anderson?"

"Ethan?" Tina got up from Mike's lap to call the older brother. The latter quickly rushed past her and stopped in front of the doctor. "So?"

"He's fine, he's awake. He's got a broken arm and several bruises and cuts, but he would be able to leave soon."

Everyone heaved a deep sigh of relief at their friend's safety. But the burning question still lingered. _What about Kurt?_

It was Burt who brought that up.

The doctor sighed a little before continuing. "Mr Hummel is fine. However, his injuries are more severe than Mr Anderson's, and we have put him under a medically-induced sleep to help him relax. As far, he is not awake yet."

Ethan spun around to face the group. When his eyes laid onto his sister, still asleep, he sighed and walked towards her. However, Quinn stopped him. "I'll take her home." She whispered. "She had a long day."

Ethan shot her a grateful glance. "Thank you." He whispered softly. Puck immediately got up to help her. Ethan watched them leave, before turning back to the group. "Anyone, er…"

"Family first." Mike smiled.

Ethan smiled back appreciatively, before walking towards Blaine's room, fiddling with his fingers nervously. He stopped outside Blaine's door, then, putting on a bright smile, walked into the room.

* * *

><p>"Sup, little bro?"<p>

Blaine looked up and rolled his eyes at the nickname at Ethan settled himself on his bedside.

"Other than the fact that the anesthesia had just worn off and now my arm is screaming for mercy, I'm feeling pretty spunky now." He replied sarcastically.

Ethan snorted. "You've been spending too much time with Kurt, I can tell."

"Speaking of Kurt… Where is he?"

"Later, okay? Your entire glee club is outside."

Blaine sighed and nodded.

* * *

><p>After the New Directions had left, biding their goodbyes, Blaine quickly turned to Ethan, who had come back with coffee for the two of them. "I want to see Kurt now."<p>

"Demanding, aren't we?" Ethan shook his head, taking a sip of his decaf. He sighed. "I want you to be mentally prepared. Kurt's injured more severely than you, and-"

"And what? You think I would change my mind after seeing him? I love him, Ethan." Blaine's eyes narrowed into slits as he gritted his teeth.

"Blaine." Ethan cut off whatever Blaine tried to say next abruptly. "You need to listen to me now. You cut me off before I could finish. The thing is, please don't freak out or anything when you see him, okay? The cuts will heal, the bruises will fade, but for now…"

Blaine looked down at his fiddling fingers. "I need to see him. Please, Eth."

Ethan alerted a nurse, and two agonizing minutes later, they were walking off. Or at least, Blaine was limping painfully, and Ethan was helping him to the room.

They stopped outside a room, and Blaine waited anxiously while Ethan knocked onto the door, and receiving approval from the people inside. "Mr and Mrs Hummel-Hudson?" Ethan whispered as they opened the door.

"Burt, Carole." Blaine greeted quietly.

Burt looked up from where he was sitting beside Kurt. "Blaine, Ethan." He greeted the two Andersons. He motioned for Carole to get up and he did too. "We'll just… go to get something to eat. Er… sorry to interrupt, Ethan, but where are your parents? They should be here." He asked in a gruff tone.

Ethan winced a little at the mention of their parents- and _yes, overseas again_- before spilling out an "Er…"

Something flashed in Burt's eyes, like _yes,_ he was _fully aware_ what Ethan was going to say. He simply nodded. "Take care, Blaine." He patted the younger boy's shoulder as he and Carole walked past them, Carole shooting a soft smile at them.

After Carole had moved from his frame of view, Blaine spotted him.

"Kurt." Blaine gasped.

This must all be a joke. That wasn't Kurt. There was no way that broken, battered, bruised but still beautiful boy in that bed was his angel. His love of his life.

He sank to his knees and pulled them up to his chest before Ethan could help him to his feet. The tears finally came. It was his entire fault. If he hadn't been so stupid, so mistrusting, Kurt wouldn't have left. They would have their much-needed couple time instead of fighting. Kurt wouldn't have wandered around Westerville alone. He wouldn't have bumped into the jocks.

It was all Blaine's fault.

"No."

Ethan fought back his tears as he watched Blaine break down in front of him. He got down and wrapped his arms around his shaking brother, whispering in his ear, choking on his tears. "This was no one's fault. It's those bastards who don't know, or will never understand what love is. Please, Blaine, stay strong. Even if you can't do this for yourself, do it for me and Lae. Do it for Kurt."

_Kurt._

It was the only thing that brought Blaine to his senses.

Ethan watching him calm down a little, slowly brought Blaine to his feet and led him to Kurt's bedside. "I'll give you some time alone."

* * *

><p>Blaine sank into the nearby chair, his trembling hand reaching out to touch his lover's face. Kurt was still and did not respond to his touch. The only indicator of him being alive was the steady beat of the heart monitor.<p>

_Still breathtaking._

"Kurt, I'm here, right here. I'm not going to let you go, okay? Not here, not now, not ever. We've come so far, I c-can't let them take you away from me now…" Blaine broke off in a fresh round of sobs. He wiped at his face with his hospital gown, not once caring about what other people might think should they happen to walk by.

"…Blaine?"

He looked up into the inquiring eyes of his sister.

"Lae… I thought Quinn took you home?"

"I didn't exactly consent to it." Laella rolled her eyes. "I didn't even know. All I remembered was that I cried, fell asleep, and woke up on the couch while Quinn was watching Gossip Girl." She took a deep breath, glancing around the room. "And… I couldn't stay at home without going insane. I hadn't even seen you yet. I had to make sure both of you were okay." Her eyes drifted sadly to Kurt. It was then that Blaine noticed the guitar she was carrying with her non-bandaged arm. (He really had got to ask her how, though.)

"You brought that?" Blaine smiled affectionately at his guitar. "I don't think I would be able to play it though."

"Don't be dumb. You can't, but I can." Laella replied, her eyes twinkling a little among the clouds in her eyes. "I thought... I saw it somewhere… music can help."

She sat into the chair beside Blaine's and settled the guitar on her lap. "This song… it reminds me of you and Kurt. Since I don't know how to play Teenage Dream- yet- this might work." She started playing the opening chords of the song, glancing over at Blaine who had his eyes closed, swaying a little on the spot to the beat as his hand remained clutched tight to Kurt's. "Maybe you can sing along?" she smiled shyly.

Blaine just smiled, gripping Kurt's hand more tightly.

_Heart beats fast_

_Colors and promises_

_How to be brave_

_How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?_

_But watching you stand alone_

_All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow_

Laella started off wavering, but in the middle of the verse, her voice got a little stronger, and at the end, her clear soprano voice rang through the room.

Blaine gave her a smile.

_One step closer_

_I have died everyday waiting for you_

_Darlin' don't be afraid_

_I have loved you for a thousand years_

_I'll love you for a thousand more_

She gestured to Blaine to take the next verse.

_Time stands still_

_Beauty is all he is_

_I will be brave_

_I will not let anything take away_

_What's standing in front of me_

_Every breath, every hour has come to this_

Blaine deliberately changed the pronoun 'she' for obvious reasons. His other hand stroked Kurt's cheek adoringly, and Laella just smiled affectionately.

_One step closer_

_I have died everyday waiting for you_

_Darlin' don't be afraid_

_I have loved you for a thousand years_

_I'll love you for a thousand more_

Now both voices were unison. Laella leant her head on Blaine's shoulder and he turned to kiss her hair as she continued strumming.

_And all along I believed_

_I would find you_

_Time has brought_

_Your heart to me_

_I have loved you for a thousand years_

_I'll love you for a thousand more_

_I have died everyday waiting for you_

_Darlin' don't be afraid,_

_I have loved you for a thousand years_

_I'll love you for a thousand more_

Blaine blinked back the tears threatening to fall from his eyes, again. He would be strong.

_And all along I believed I would find you_

_Time has brought your heart to me_

_I have loved you for a thousand years_

_I'll love you for a thousand more_

As the two siblings finished their song, the sun was just setting, and the sunset casted a deep glow over the bed. They looked at the sunset for a while, before simultaneously turning to Kurt.

His eyelids fluttered.

They both gasped. Laella got up and allowed Blaine to move closer to Kurt. Blaine cupped Kurt's cheek and whispered to him urgently. "Kurt? Kurt, can you hear us?"

A twitch of a hand. Those eyes Blaine missed finally opened, baby blue meeting hazel.

"I love you." Kurt whispered.

* * *

><p><strong>Butterflies. :D R&amp;R!<strong>


	13. Chapter 13: Acceptance

**Hey guys. Sorry for the long update. I would point a finger at school but it might also be partly my fault. I finished and beta'd it on Sunday, but only managed to upload it now. Sorry again for the wait. This chapter is longer than the previous ones, though, so I hope it makes up for it.**

**-JessC**

* * *

><p>Chapter 13- Acceptance<p>

Blaine gradually started to heal, physically and emotionally. When he used to not even use the remote without his fingers screaming in pain, he now bounced on the couch eagerly as he snatched the remote from Laella, switching the channel from reruns of Friends to Project Runway.

Laella had remarked, "You certainly are gay," with a playful tone. But she was still relieved with the way her brother was being himself again.

Sometimes Kurt came over when the both of them were supposed to be recuperating. It was known that he pleaded and blackmailed Finn in order to be driven over to the Anderson's on certain days. ("That boy has a disturbing internet history, let me tell you that, I learnt it the hard way.") Sometimes he would just play Scrabble or sing in the room with the three siblings when Laella, Kurt and Blaine got home from school and Ethan from work, or Blaine and him would go up to have some couple time.

But it wasn't all just laughter, tickles, and wrestling.

There was a reason why Ethan never mentioned the reason why their parents weren't rushing over when Blaine got hurt. Yes, he did try to contact them, but it was only after 24 text messages and 9 voicemails did Mrs Anderson pick up her phone in New York. He had been cut off with an abrupt, "Sport, I'm at an important business conference, and sealing the deal is _vital_. Whatever you are trying to tell me about Blaine can wait." Ethan heard a dial tone before he could tell her that, _yes, her conference can wait because her own son had just been attacked badly in a fight he was not the cause of_. Ethan was furious at his parents and upset with himself at the same time for not being able to help at all.

Laella was, admittedly, a little overprotective of Blaine in the few days after he had left the hospital. She glared at the people who stared at him when they were in the bowling alley or when they were simply walking in the park, and Blaine had gripped Kurt's hand as he helped Kurt to walk. She started having nightmares as frequently as twice a night. Her cutting had increased significantly as most of the nightmares had involved at least one person she loved dead, lying in a pool of their own blood as Azimio leered at her, holding a knife. She woke up crying most of the time, and could not go back to sleep afterwards.

People asked why her eyes were bloodshot, and she had just shrugged, tugging unconsciously at the long sleeves of her shirt.

As for the couple, they were no different. Kurt constantly felt pangs of guilt for running away, and Blaine was beating himself down for letting Kurt go. They simply watched movies, cuddling up to each other, feeling _needy_ for the other. They barely spent a waking moment away from each other, separating only when Finn came to pick Kurt up.

But that didn't make much of a difference either as Kurt had called him as soon as he got up to his bedroom.

* * *

><p>The parents only found out about Blaine's attack five days after, as Ethan was caught up in Blaine's recovery to remember. As the screaming escalated to a certain loudness level even through the little computer screen, Laella had just rushed up into her room for salvage, and Blaine joined her after for comfort, leaving only after Ethan had pleaded with Blaine to, choosing to deal with their wrath himself.<p>

The atmosphere thickened after their parents had gotten back.

However, they did not bring up the incident again, only doing so when Mr Anderson discussed with his lawyers, and when Mrs Anderson asked Blaine if he was okay when they had passed in the hallway.

Blaine had simply nodded, forced a surprised but grateful smile, and ran back upstairs without getting his glass of water.

It wasn't until a certain Friday evening when things happened, though.

* * *

><p>It was an average Anderson family dinner. Well, not average, it was just one of the rare times both of their parents happened to be home in time. The three siblings had initially been surprised to see them sitting in the drawing room when they got home from school and work, but decided to relish the uncommon moment while they could.<p>

Laella had decided to help out in the kitchen with their chef for the first time since she had come back from Colorado. She was in a pretty good mood, so the chef didn't question her, instead taking the opportunity of an extra helper, chatting while they worked on the vegetables.

15 minutes later, the family was eating, exchanging small (though still awkward) talk.

"So, Laella honey, how are you coping at McKinley?"

"Er... it's fine, I've managed to make some friends."

"Oh… that's good, I guess."

Then silence.

Laella looked up at the numerous dishes, choosing to take more chicken. _With lots of barbeque sauce too, yum._ However, her hand clutching the chopsticks was blocked by another pair of chopsticks. (They were still half-Asian, after all.)

"No way on earth, smurf. I get the last piece of chicken."

"And how are you… suddenly eligible? I get the last piece, it's tradition." Laella rolled her eyes at a smirking Blaine.

"It is basic courtesy to grant your elders- and by that I mean me- something simple like that." Blaine replied with a haughty tone, but still playful.

"Sorry, Blaine, tradition is tradition. Now eat."

Ethan was sitting next to Laella, so he was rather caught in the middle of his younger siblings' bickering, and the plate of that _extremely delicious piece of chicken_ was coincidentally right in front of him.

"Children." He interrupted formally, pushing their hands away. "Let me solve this dispute." He took that piece and put it on his own plate. "And look! You guys have stopped arguing over simple matters. This is what I get for being such a democratic brother." He teased.

Blaine and Laella just stared at their older brother, while the latter grinned evilly at them.

Laella started poking Ethan with the blunt end of her chopsticks. "I don't think that was very…. democratic. You are evil. And no, Blaine, you are still in the picture. I wonder why we are related."

"We are. We just like to annoy you." Ethan grinned as he continually dodged, finally giving up and gripping her wrist.

"Mom!"

Their mother just chuckled, shaking her head. "Ethan, let go of your sister. No fighting at the table. Laella, I'm pretty sure it wasn't a tradition, you just always coincidentally wait for the last one just to show off anyway."

Laella just rolled her eyes as she shrugged her wrist away from Ethan's grip, turning back to her food.

The atmosphere thinned a little bit. Sure, it wasn't like the whole family started chatting actively, but it was an improvement.

"So, Blaine." Their father spoke up, reaching out for more food, "How are things for _you_ at McKinley? Been adapting there?"

"It's fine, dad." Blaine smiled a little.

"Found any cute girls to take home?" their dad teased.

Blaine shifted uneasily into his seat. He pushed his plate slightly away from him, feeling his appetite starting to go down.

"…No."

Laella, dropping the spoonful of rice that was heading for her mouth before she heard the remark, looked up at Ethan. Both siblings shared a look before turning to Blaine, who had frozen a little. _But I told him about it…_ Blaine mouthed discreetly to his siblings, who both just sighed.

Robert Anderson simply nodded sympathetically. "Oh," he suddenly lit up, "kids, do you remember the Carters? When you were young you all used to go over to their house for playdates. Blaine, remember Isabelle? She was the one who kept trying to steal your bowties. She's all grown up now, though. Harry sent me a picture last week. The family will be in town next week; maybe we should meet up and do introductions." He pulled out his phone and started scrolling through his pictures.

Blaine cleared his throat and the entire table looked up.

"Dad… I don't need a girlfriend. I'm gay, _remember_?"

Silence around the table.

When their father spoke again, his voice was bitter. "You keep saying that, but it doesn't make me want to start accepting it. It's not normal, Blaine. Get a hold on yourself."

Blaine pushed his chair back and stood up. "I'm going upstairs."

"You are not going anywhere." Their father growled, menace in his eyes. "Sit down, Blaine."

"I am not going to sit here and watch you turn me into someone I'm not! Why can't you understand that!" Blaine snapped back.

"Dear god, Blaine, I'm trying to _help_ you, why can't you see that?"

"You're not helping me in any way. All I asked was for your acceptance."

Dinner forgotten on the table, Blaine and his father now stood and glared at each other. The buzzing coming from the cook and butler talking in the hallways fell silent.

Robert dragged his hand down his face. "Blaine. Look, let's sit down and talk rationally."

"Rationally? Since when have you ever done that to me?"

"Blaine Anderson!" Robert took a step towards Blaine. Laella gasped a little and the man spun around.

"Go back up, Laella. You don't have to see this. To be corrupted by…_this_."

"What if I want to?" Laella whispered as she got up. She walked to stand beside Blaine. "Dad, I'm not five anymore. I'm pretty sure I know how to make my own decisions. And I stand by Blaine."

Their father wore a painful look on his face. "You have to understand-"

"You know what, Dad? I'm sick of this. I've come out when I was twelve. Didn't you remember? Or were you just trying to hide from the truth? Well guess what- I have a boyfriend. We've been dating for a year and I love him. I don't want to hide this anymore." Blaine clenched his fists. He couldn't even look at his father anymore. "I'm still the same son you have had for the last 18 years."

"You almost _died_ because you chose to lead that_ lifestyle_. You know what? You're not my son if you resort to this lifestyle. At least I still have one _normal_ son."

"Dad!" Ethan protested, glancing at Blaine.

The latter just gave a hateful glance at his father and ran out of the room, but not before Laella heard a sob coming from him.

"Blaine!" Laella ran after him, but was held back by her father's grip on her wrist.

"Leave it, Laella. He doesn't need your concern." Her father sneered as he pulled her back into the dining room.

"What is wrong with you? He is your _son_. The least you could do is-"

"Do what? Sit back and let him ruin his own life by being with some… fairy? I will not let his life go to ruins, and I will not let you be influenced."

They heard a loud crash from upstairs and winced. "I don't care. I'm going after him." Laella wrenched her wrist from her father's grasp and tore up the stairs.

When Laella opened the door, a thick Earth Sciences book went flying towards her. She looked around the messy room, spotting her brother at his study table, searching in his drawers for something huge to throw. "What are you doing here? Just leave me alone." She heard him mumble.

"No, I'm not going to." Laella ducked, causing the book to fly and crash onto the door opposite the room. She crossed the room to put her arms around her brother. Blaine tensed a bit, struggling to escape.

"Let go."

"No."

Blaine sniffled a little audibly, and then relaxed as he hugged Laella back, letting himself go a little more. Laella could feel tears starting to come down her own cheeks as she held her brother close. She rocked him to and fro, like how her mother had comforted her when she was young.

Finally, Blaine gave in, and both siblings collapsed to the floor, still clinging onto each other. However, now Laella was the one sobbing harder, and Blaine was the one soothing her, clutching her close to his chest.

"Don't leave me. Please." Laella choked out.

"I won't. I won't sit there and let him control me. Most of all, I'll never leave you or Ethan. Or Kurt." Blaine whispered softly.

"I've have had enough of this!" Ethan burst into the room, kicking a nearby book into the far corner of the room. The faint sounds from the dining room of their parents arguing echoed into the room. "I'm moving out."

"What?" both younger siblings turned to face him.

"I-I-" Ethan groaned, "Sienna is coming next month anyway. We were planning to move into a little house nearby. With all this that has happened, I have a good excuse now." Sienna was Ethan's girlfriend of 2 years. She was there for Blaine when he got beaten at the Sadie Hawkins dance and supported throughout the entire fight last month. She had become one of the Anderson siblings' closest friends.

He turned to Blaine and Laella, joining the embrace. "I won't be leaving you here, but I can't ask you to move there either. Just so you remember, guys, if you ever, god forbid, get kicked out, you know there's a place you can go."

Laella just let out a heavy sigh and buried her head further into Blaine's chest. The three siblings waited silently, until it was quiet in the dining room and Ethan's watch beeped to inform them that it was midnight.

They were tired and emotionally spent and just wanted to sleep it off.

* * *

><p>"<em>Glad you could make it!"<em>

_Laella laughed as she approached her classmate. "Hey, Elle. I didn't want to spend my first night in the dorms alone anyway."_

_Elena grinned. "Come on, let loose! The whole freshman cohort is here!"_

"_Wouldn't the professors notice a mass amount of their students with hangovers the next day?"_

"_Nah," Elena dragged Laella towards the punch bowl. "they don't notice because they're drunk out of their minds too." _

_They chatted for a moment, breaking the ice. Elena was assigned to sit next to Laella the first day of freshman year at Austin and they had become instant buddies. Laella had originally planned to call her parents at night, but Elena showed up at her dormitory and demanded for her to get changed and to meet her in the banquet room. "You have to go- everyone's going to be there and I'll be lonely! Please?"_

"_Hey Jackson." Laella called out to the short brunette who had walked past the girls, iPod earphones stuck in both ears. Jake spun around. "Hi! Didn't expect you two to be here." Jake had also become close to Laella and Elena, after shyly asking them whether he could sit with them at lunch._

"_Wanna dance?" Elena turned to both her friends._

"_I'll pass. You guys just go." Laella grinned and waved as Jake spun Elena into a circle and lead her to the dance floor. Laella knew a crush when she saw one, and it was evident in Elena's eyes. There was no way she was going to be a third wheel._

_She was standing there, taking sips from her cup of punch (unspiked, as she could tell by the taste, thank goodness), when she felt a tap on her shoulder._

"_Come with me." Then a hand gripped her by the wrist and pulled her roughly towards a closet, and before she could react, she was pushed in and she heard a click as the door shut._

Laella jumped and looked around frantically at her surroundings.

Okay, good, this time she had managed to force herself awake. She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest, burying her face in her hands and taking deep breaths.

"Lae?"

She jumped and turned in the direction of the voice. Blaine was staring at her groggily, rubbing his eyes. It was then that she noticed the time. 3.20am. And she looked around the room. The siblings had just talked after the entire fight. They must have fallen asleep gradually. Ethan was still sleeping.

"Are you okay?" Blaine tried to sit up, but gave in due to exhaustion and collapsed on the bed, still a little awake but just.

"I-I'm fine. Just… nightmare."

Blaine slowly sat up and pulled his sister down. "C'mon, try to sleep. We still have that shopping date with Kurt and the girls, remember? It was just a dream, kay? We're here if you need us." He motioned to himself and Ethan, planting a soft kiss onto her hair.

"Goodnight Blaine."

"'Night."

This time, Laella closed her eyes, and tried to will herself back to sleep, ignoring her palpitating heart and cold sweat matting her forehead.

* * *

><p><strong>R&amp;R!<strong>


	14. Chapter 14: Help

**I spent a few days not writing this, because I had writer's block. But now I'm back, and managed to complete this chapter. :') Hope you don't die from the new episode of Glee!**

**I also hope this makes up for the impending hiatus. My exams are coming up at the end of the month, so I might not even have the time to write anything. But I promise you all, when I come back, I will try to get back the momentum to start writing again. **

**Triggers: violence, mild sexual assault (?) **

**-JessC**

* * *

><p>Chapter 14- Help<p>

"Bye, Ashley!"

Laella smiled and waved as her friend got into her boyfriend's car. They shared a grin and Ashley mouthed a 'text me later', before the car drove off.

Laella kept that small smile on her face as she walked slowly to the bus stop. It was good to be making friends again. Ashley sat next to her in French, shared Biology and Earth Sciences with her, and her locker was just a few doors away. They usually met up to walk to class together. Ashley was kind of an outcast, just like her, since she was shy. But she introduced Laella to her other friends, and they got on well. She was just closest to Ashley.

A small part of her heart knew that Ashley could never replace her best friend Elena, but it was better making friends with people her own age, she knew. All of the members in New Directions were older than her and even if they were awesome, it wasn't the same, you know?

She whipped out her phone and began texting Blaine.

_Anderson, if you stop trying to get Kurt off, you probably have time to bring both your asses home for dinner before I eat your share._

Burt and Carole were out doing business and Finn was at Puck's house, so Blaine and Kurt decided to have dinner at the Andersons before heading out to watch _The Lorax_ together. She received a reply immediately.

_Screw you._

She smirked as she typed out her reply.

_You have Kurt for that. Love, your awesome sister xoxo_

She was so busy texting that she didn't notice a burly figure walking behind her.

As she rounded the corner to the bus stop, a hand gripped her wrist and pulled her roughly into a nearby alley.

* * *

><p>Laella was too stunned to react, let alone even speak or scream. She finally found her voice a few seconds later, but before she could scream, a hand clapped over her mouth.<p>

"Don't you fucking dare."

Her voice died in her throat as she recognized the tone of her attacker's voice.

"I'm gonna remove my hand, but do anything and I'll fucking kill you."

She felt the weight on herself slowly lightening, but she didn't dare to look up, fearing what she might find.

A hand went to her hair and dragged her head roughly up to meet her attacker's face. Laella whimpered and she struggled to break free of his grasp, but the glinting silver in his other hand made her think otherwise.

"Y-You got out. Of… J-Juvie."

Azimio twirled his knife slowly in his hand, not missing the way Laella flinched and seemed to cower away from the sharp object. He sneered a little.

"Good old Daddy let me out before I have to go back for some stupid hearing. Why would they even bother, when someone was going to do it sooner or later. Pity they had to go through all those fuss. Let me cut to the chase. Have you told anyone?"

Now he was really close, his breath down Laella's neck as he held out the knife into her line of view to serve as a reminder.

Laella blanched a little, before she remembered.

A whirl of emotions and flashbacks began running through her head, so fast she was getting dizzy. She suddenly let out a yelp as she was thrown back against the wall. She heard a blurry of voices as her phone tumbled out of her hand, but she didn't take much notice. "Answer me!"

"I…. I haven't. Please, just leave me a-alone!" she yelled, burying her head into her hands as she curled to a sitting position, her knees against her chest.

She heard a hiss come out from Azimio, and screamed as she felt something sharp pierce her skin.

"I- told you not to fucking scream," Azimio growled at her, his face dangerously close.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry…" she repeated the words over and over again, shaking her head vigorously as she made herself smaller. _Just leave me alone, please. _She could feel the blood dripping down her leg, but she could care less about the pain now. Her breath came in raggedly sobs as she tried to control herself.

"Good, don't you forget that. Keep quiet, and nothing will happen to you or those homos."

A few seconds passed and the alley was silent. Laella slowly lifted her head, thinking that Azimio had finally left.

_Smack!_ She felt a blow to her exposed back and she doubled over, gasping as the pain seared through her.

"You're such a fucking slut. You got lucky the last time round. When I properly released, I _will _find you."

Laella heard the sound of footsteps fading away into the background and she let herself go, sobbing into her arms. It had never hurt her that bad. Ever.

"Are you alone now? Lae, can you hear me? Where are you? We're coming to pick you up!"

She jumped at the sound and spun around looking around for the owner of that frantic voice. She suddenly saw her phone lit up and she moved herself over to pick it up.

Shit.

She accidentally pressed the 'call' button when she was going to send that text to Blaine.

Did that mean they heard everything?

Laella paled. Crap. They were going to badger her like crazy until she opened up about what happened. There was no way she could escape.

"B-B-Blaine?" she whispered.

She could hear a relieved sigh coming from Blaine. "Smurf- _thank goodness_. I thought I was going to scour the whole of Ohio until I found you. Are you alright? Can you move? Where are you? Kurt's driving now."

Guess there was no way she could escape.

"I-I'm in the alley near the bus stop of the mall…"

Blaine stayed on the phone with her, listening to her explain her injuries (on Blaine's request), probing "Was it him? How did he get out-, "and the faint sound of Kurt going, "Blaine, save that for later, please".

Finally, after what seemed like centuries, she felt strong, familiar arms circle her and she turned around, melting into Blaine's embrace and releasing the dam of tears that was holding up within her while she was waiting. She could hear Kurt fussing softly over her, Blaine whispering softly to Kurt, and then felt the two of them helping her up, Blaine's shirt over the wound on her leg.

All of a sudden she realized who was holding her and jerked away, wrapping her arms around herself. "Don't touch me!"

Blaine was shocked by the sudden movement and dropped to the ground to meet Laella as she rocked to and fro on the ground. "Lae?"

"You don't have to…" Laella whispered. She looked down to her knees. "I'm sorry, I'm disgusting."

Blaine was torn between wanting to hold Laella close and wanting to run to punch the living daylights out of Azimio for whatever he did to his little sister. Kurt saw his distress. "Then… can I?" he whispered softly, placing a hand on Laella's shoulder. Laella flinched a little, but did not shrug the hand off. Kurt took it as a good sign.

He looked to Blaine, who wore a look of hurt on his face. "It's okay, baby," he squeezed Blaine's hand, "she needs a while." Blaine complied, picking up Laella's bag and guiding them into the car.

They kept asking her questions, but she didn't respond, choosing to stare blankly at her lap. Blaine took the wheel this time, his eyes wandering over the backseat as Kurt whispered softly to Laella.

Ethan was there when they got home, rushing home from work after receiving Blaine's frantic call.

Kurt shook his head firmly when Ethan tried to coax Laella into speaking. "All she needs is some _rest_, Ethan- don't force it out of her, please. After she wakes up."

After Kurt and Laella left, Blaine turned to Ethan brokenly. "S-She wouldn't even let me touch her, Eth," he stammered out, shaking. His eyes burned with unshed tears.

Ethan just nodded, shaking and held his brother close.

* * *

><p>"Laella. Please?"<p>

Laella looked up to where she was sitting on the couch, curled up next to the armrest.

"I-I don't know…" she looked down to where she was fiddling at the pillow, not wanting to meet Ethan's worried and confused eyes.

"You promised me you would." Kurt said.

"I do remember it was when I was falling asleep and didn't comprehend anything you said." Laella retorted quietly.

She looked up slowly, and incidentally met Blaine's eyes. She tried to look away, but Blaine started speaking, his voice still a little croaked after the crying he did in Ethan's chest.

"I hate being the last person to know anything."

"S-Sorry, Blaine." Laella whispered, looking down again. "I… I just can't. It's not easy…"

"We'll love you no matter what happened." Ethan spoke firmly.

Were they sure? Or would they cringe and leave her like she was vermin?

* * *

><p><em>Laella hated being the last to leave the class.<em>

_Okay, maybe she wasn't really the last, but she was helping Ms Monroe to carry her tests to the staff room. After the tiring job, she made it as far as the car park before she realized she left her binder on her table. She groaned and walked back to retrieve it._

_When she stepped into the empty classroom, she spotted her binder lying on the floor, thankfully undisturbed. She rushed forwards to retrieve it, but as she turned around to walk out of the classroom, the lock clicked._

_She froze and looked around her until her eyes met a certain letterman's jacket. Her binder fell out of her trembling hands and onto the ground with a loud crash, sending some loose worksheets everywhere. She quickly got onto the ground to gather the papers up._

"_That was the exact position I wanted you in, how did you know, Anderson? Desperate for me?"_

_She was pushed to the ground painfully, and she turned around, crawling under the table to hide from him. He gripped her by the ankle and pulled her forward roughly._

"_You're not going anywhere."_

_Her eyes were fixed on the door, praying frantically that someone would walk in. "I-I need to get home." She protested wildly._

_He pretended he didn't hear her plea._

_He shoved his hands roughly up her shirt. "Fucking whore," he whispered harshly, "bet you wore those jeans to spite me, huh? Couldn't resist?" His breath reeked of alcohol._

_She gasped and struggled to get free. He pushed her head down more roughly and she screamed._

"_Good, continue doing that. I want everyone who passes by to hear you." He smirked, his hands wandering over her body as she squirmed._

"_Get off me!"_

_Laella could feel the world spinning around her. No, no way she was going to black out like that. Leaving him to do whatever he wanted with her. She screamed again, and thank goodness, she could hear someone trying to unlock the door._

_He cursed as the door burst open._

"_Get off her."_

"_F-Finn." She scrambled to her feet as Mike rushed to her, while Finn pulled him off her. "Get out." Finn hissed before rushing back to Laella. _

_Azimio glared heavily and stumbled off. There was a large crash as a table flew into the tables behind it and the three in the room all winced heavily._

"_Mike, could you get Blaine? I think he's in the library with Kurt." Finn told the Asian, who nodded and went off._

"_No!" Laella interrupted, grabbing hold of Mike's wrist to stop him. Both boys looked confusedly at her. "Just do me a favor, please. D-Don't tell Blaine." She protested. "I'm fine, nothing happened."_

"_Well, considering the fact that you're pale as a ghost and you're shaking really terribly, I can't really believe you now." Mike whispered gently. "It's okay, Blaine would-"_

"_I don't want Blaine to know." Laella glared, half-heartedly because she knew Finn and Mike wanted to do it for her own good. But she was still afraid._

"_But-"_

"_Please?"_

_Finn groaned. "Kurt'll kill me if he ever finds out."_

"_He won't know if you don't tell. Come on, Finn." She pleaded._

_After a while, Mike sighed heavily. "At least let us walk you to Glee."_

"…_Fine."_

* * *

><p>Kurt groaned. "No wonder Finn was shooting both of us weird looks."<p>

Laella didn't look up.

Kurt sighed and went over to sit next to her. "Look," he began, "I'm not angry at you for anything. I'm just… frustrated you didn't tell any of us. We could've helped you."

"The last time you went up against him, you were in the hospital for 2 weeks." Laella said quietly.

Silence.

Laella watched the three faces in front of her. One was not exactly calm, but wanted to handle the situation without freaking anyone out. One was looking at her, his face clearly showing the confusion and hurt in his eyes. Laella gulped. The other had his head in his hands, and his body was facing away from them, shaking terribly.

"Blaine… say something, please?" Laella's voice cracked a little as she reached out to her brother.

When Blaine did look up, his face was red. He quickly got up.

"Where are you going?" Kurt asked, alarmed.

"I'm going to find that bastard, and I'm going to kill the son of a bitch who keeps harassing the people I love!" Blaine snapped, before running out of the room.

"Blaine!" Ethan's voice rang throughout the living room, making Blaine stop in his tracks at the door.

"Don't try to change my mind, Ethan. First my boyfriend. Now, my sister. What do you expect me to do? And what are you even doing? Nothing!"

"I expect you to keep out of reform school, or much worse, Juvie." Ethan commanded. "Violence was never the answer. And we Andersons must never stoop down to their level."

The fight went out of Blaine as the words hit him. He tried to keep his rapid heartbeat down. "But what can we do?"

"The best we can do is to file another restraining order for Lae." Ethan sighed. "Goddammit, we'll need Dad's signature again. Maybe I can find a document in the home office to use for forging…"

"I-I don't need a restraining order. I'm f-fine." Laella protested.

"No, you're not." Ethan brushed the skin on her forehead, pulling back as soon as Laella yelped as it came into contact with the gash across it, edging away from his hand.

"See?"

"Fine, do whatever you want." Laella grumbled, her eyelids slowly drooping as she laid her head on the armrest.

"Love you, Lae." Blaine whispered. He seemed to have calmed down a little after his outburst. He propped the blanket over her. At least their parents were away. Again.

Laella got up and threw herself in Blaine's arms. "Sorry I pushed you away." She mumbled into his shirt.

"It's fine." Blaine soothed. "I'm just glad you're safe." His arms tightened significantly around her as he whispered to her.

"Love you too, Blaine." Laella smiled.

After Laella fell asleep, Blaine turned to Ethan. "Are you serious? A restraining order might not be able to keep him away from her. I'll probably kill him if he ever so much as breathes in the same neighborhood."

Ethan shot him a look. "I didn't say I wasn't going to tell the police what he did. You should get Kurt home, too. He looks exhausted."

Blaine turned to see Kurt on the couch watching over Laella, his drowsy expression and nodding off giving the act away. "Okay. Goodnight, Eth. Love you."

"Love you too, little one." Ethan ruffled Blaine's hair, and Blaine shot him a warning look before helping Kurt to his feet.

* * *

><p><strong>R &amp; R! I hope you're okay with how the plot is going and the characterization. If you have any questions feel free to let me know! (:<strong>


	15. Chapter 15: Apologies

**I'm back!**

**So here's your new chapter. I guess there's a bit of trigger warning? Triggers: basically self-harm. I don't want to seem too descriptive, so I hope this chapter served its purpose. Thanks for sticking with the story, guys. I appreciate your support. This is the longest chapter I have ever written, and now I'm emotionally attached to it. So I hope you will all like this chapter, and feel free to give me feedback. Also, this is unbetaed, so sorry! **

**-JessC**

* * *

><p>Chapter 15- Apologies<p>

_Crawling in my skin_

_These wounds they will not heal_

_Fear is how I fall_

_Confusing what is real_

She likes patterns.

Sometimes, when she draws the blade over a skin, she imagines herself as an artist. How her skin is nothing more than just a canvas, how she isn't even hurting at all inside.

She doesn't even remember how it all started. It was a bad day, she was certain.

Maybe it all started with the party.

_She was standing there, taking sips from her cup of punch (unspiked, as she could tell by the taste, thank goodness), when she felt a tap on her shoulder._

"_Come with me." Then a hand gripped her by the wrist and pulled her roughly towards a closet, and before she could react, she was pushed in and she heard a click as the door shut._

_The light flicked off and a figure approached her._

"_Recognize me?"_

"…_..no?" Laella was shaking, but she kept it all inside her._

"_Tyler Johnson, History." He slurred, and despite the alcohol, she recognized him as he stumbled forward. That creepy guy who was staring at her the entire period and simply slotted himself between her and Elena during lunch._

"_Doesn't explain why you pulled me in here."_

She always felt gross after a flashback. What other way to remove the dirt but through another powerful feeling?

Pain.

_There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface_

_Consuming, confusing_

_This lack of self-control I fear is never ending_

_Controlling, I can't seem_

Sometimes, she calms down a little, but the agony is still there and she just needs to_ feel_ something. As she watches the blood dripping down her arm, she relaxes and feels the numbness running through her.

After a while, she washes the blood away, covering it with a bandage.

Blaine often teases her about how clumsy she always is, and she doesn't deny it. She just sits and smiles and nods along, because no one will suspect anything.

Which is good.

Ethan had been starting to give her a few looks, though. She's not really sure if it was because he found out the person who had sneaked into his room and stole his secret stash of Oreos (it was totally Blaine, though), or…. The fact that he'd been suspecting something. She had better be more careful.

_To find myself again_

_My walls are closing in_

_(without a sense of confidence and I'm convinced that there's just too much pressure to take)_

_I've felt this way before_

_So insecure_

They found out two months before she left.

By 'they', she meant Cameron, Elena and Jake.

Cameron and Laella were cuddling in her room on a lazy Friday evening, having a mini Disney marathon with Elena and Jake (who were suspiciously close to each other). Laella had had a bad week, crammed with examinations, hearing from her father about how she had 'better stay straight with that kid', and not to 'be like your brother, dating that boy from the public school'. He sounded tipsy, so Laella hung up on her own father and called Blaine afterwards. The two siblings had a three-hour conversation of 'I kind of miss having someone shorter than me in the house' and a hesitant 'Blaine, dad called me', which had been terribly exhausting since Blaine picked up the phone at midnight.

She was taking the advantage of the long weekend ahead and sleeping next to her beautiful boyfriend.

Cameron had been tracing patterns on the long sleeves of her shirt. Laella had been protesting about how cold it was- on a March- when Cameron asked her why she kept wearing such thick clothes. He noticed that Laella was perspiring a little even with the air conditioning on, so he lifted up her sleeves a little, stopping midway when he saw them. Jake heard his intake of breath and spun around, hand unknowingly clutching onto Elena's as he realized why Cameron was stunned.

"Baby? Can you wake up?"

They found out about everything. What happened at the party, the troubles at home, and how it had all started.

"I-I don't know. I heard about it somewhere, and it was hurting so much I needed to try."

"Then it became a habit?"Cameron whispered, trying to keep his tears from spilling over.

"I-I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. I… can't believe I didn't notice a thing."

_Crawling in my skin_

_These wounds they will not heal_

_Fear is how I fall_

_Confusing what is real_

They wanted her to tell Blaine and Ethan. But they stopped after Laella had a screaming match with Cameron as he held the phone out of her reach, which resulted in more crying.

"Our dad's an asshole and you know how he treats Blaine already. Don't make it worse for all of us! Blaine's got his own problems and Eth's still trying to get a stable job!"

"You can't keep this in forever!"

"Stop yelling at me, please!"

After a while, her friends reluctantly stopped asking her to tell. It was their secret. They helped her overcome it, but it was never enough. Laella would just do it in places that weren't too obvious.

_Discomfort endlessly has pulled itself upon me_

_Distracting, reacting_

_Against my will I stand beside my own reflection_

_It's haunting how I can't seem..._

Why would Cameron still want her? They haven't kissed or even touched each other in months. The only thing defining their relationship is figuring out time zone differences and making sure they could be online at the same time. Laella misses Cameron so badly.

_Maybe he's just too afraid to tell me he doesn't want me anymore?_

She cuts again.

_Crawling in my skin_

_These wounds they will not heal_

_Fear is how I fall_

_Confusing what is real_

Laella closes her eyes for a moment, breathing in deeply to relax. She almost reaches for the blade, but stops herself. Not this time. She has to help Ethan with his new house.

A few weeks after the whole fight between Blaine and their dad, Ethan signed the deal to a little house near town but away from the city. It looked beautiful from the pictures the contractor had sent them, but Blaine and Laella had yet to see it in front of them. His fiancée Sienna had flown in a week earlier, and she and Ethan had stayed at a hotel room while waiting for the house to be ready. The Andersons, of course, had not approved of Ethan moving out when he was not married yet (they were engaged, though), but Ethan had insisted.

"Well, technically, Mom, we'll be living with each other sooner or later. Sienna and I had discussed this already, and we want to see if we were able to get used to each other's habits before waiting after marriage to reach a compromise."

Of course, the charming older son had gained his parents' approval. Of course, on the bright and warm Sunday, Blaine, Laella and Kurt were heading over to Ethan's new home.

* * *

><p>Laella quickly got out and practically tackled Sienna when Blaine stopped the car. The two girls squealed. "I don't mean to sound like your old relatives, but you've grown so much, Lae! And why are you wearing something so long when it's summer?" Sienna giggled.<p>

"Great to see you again, Sienna!" Laella grinned as they let go of each other, deliberately ignoring the previous question. Thankfully, Sienna spotted Blaine leading a shy Kurt by the hand and waved frantically at them. "Blaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiners!"

Laella and Kurt giggled at the nickname, while Blaine pouted at Sienna. "Nice to see you too, Sienna." He replied, rolling his eyes and smiling as she pulled him into a hug.

"I don't think you've grown though, do you think…"

Blaine blushed a little and swatted Sienna's arm playfully. "I'll have you known I grew a foot and an inch since I've last seen you. Maybe it's the high heels."

"Whatever, Blainey." Sienna shrugged, smirking. She turned to the boy behind Blaine. "Kurt, right?" she smiled, holding out her hand. "Well, you _are_ every bit as _gorgeous_ and _beautiful_ and _flawless-skinned_ as little one here describes."

Blaine spluttered and flushed a deep red as Kurt giggled a little, shaking Sienna's hand. "It's great to meet you," he replied, smiling until his eyes scrunched up at the corners.

"Oh, Blaine, he is a-dorable!" Sienna squealed. "Why don't you come and join me in the kitchen, Kurt? I was in the middle of baking brownies but got delayed because of the big lug." She lifted her eyebrows at Ethan, who acted nonchalant. "We'll leave these three to…. I don't know, sibling stuff."

"She's enthusiastic, you'll get used to that," Blaine whispered in Kurt's ear as he was being led away by Sienna, leaving the three siblings in the front lawn.

They went and sat on the front steps, Ethan squashed in the middle of his two younger siblings as they cuddled up to him. "How's life with Mom and Dad?" he whispered.

Blaine sighed and looked up. "We're not talking much. Probably because he refuses to bring up the subject."

Ethan closed his eyes momentarily. "He has to come to his senses one day. Somehow."

"Since when has he ever?"

The siblings were silent for a while, watching the birds flying across the sky, chirping to each other happily.

"I miss you at the house, Eth," Laella spoke up. "You're usually the conversation starter during dinner. Now, when Mom and Dad are eating with us? There's complete silence." Blaine nodded sadly. "Lae and I can talk freely about Kurt and the New Direction's drama, but add parents in the mix and they aren't interested."

"It's not as if you won't see me anymore, guys. I work from home now, remember? Sienna and I'll invite you over for dinner, and add the possibility of Kurt into the mix because she seems to adore him very much."

Blaine glanced into the kitchen window, where Kurt was talking animatedly with Sienna, wearing an apron and gesturing with a wooden spoon in his hand. Kurt caught his eye and smiled, before returning to the conversation. "That's good, I guess." Blaine smiled. "It's good that at least Kurt's still accepted by some of the family." His tone of voice was underlaced with venom towards his parents.

"Let's just go in." Laella said abruptly, ending the conversation. The three siblings were secretly relieved at the subject change and made their way indoors, where the smell of brownies in the oven was wafting through the air, amongst the numerous paint buckets and newspapers lining the floor.

* * *

><p>Of course things would happen.<p>

Of course Blaine would sneak up behind Kurt and tackle him, swiping blue paint on his hair.

Of course Kurt screamed and attacked him back, turning it into a full-blown war.

Of course everyone else had just joined in, playing for no one except themselves.

Of course they had all gotten hit, and the living room now looked like a paintball arena. Thank goodness they had not decided to move in the furniture yet.

Of course they would waste the last bucket of paint when there was still an entire wall that hadn't been painted.

And of course Ethan and Sienna didn't mind. Sienna sent Blaine to wash up in the master bedroom, Kurt to the second bedroom to shower and Laella to the toilet in the guest bedroom. It was strange how there were so many bathrooms in one house, but no one complained as the paint started to dry on their hair.

Laella stared at the clothes on her bed, placed out by Sienna for her. She could've requested another shirt, but that would be rude.

But the shirt was short sleeved…

She groaned and quickly changed into the clothes. The scars were fading- she didn't dare to put much pressure- but it was still there, visible.

Well, as long as she managed not to draw attention, she would be fine. She could sneak out and grab her jacket or something. She was glad she had brought it along, even if it ignited weird stares from Blaine and Ethan.

Laella picked up her paint-covered clothes, and stepped out of the toilet in the room.

And then she froze in her tracks.

* * *

><p>Kurt was starting to notice something.<p>

It had only been little things, like her wearing long and thick clothes even in the sweltering heat, and her hasty retreat from the living room one day as Ethan switched channels lazily, when she had seen a snippet of a documentary on self-harm.

He wasn't that worried about those little moments, but he got curious one day.

After Blaine had fallen asleep after... their intimate activities, Kurt had snuck into the bathroom to bathe. He had gotten through the bath without any problem, until he had noticed the rusty blade lying in the wastepaper basket. He swore that he had noticed a bit of blood on the surface of the blade. He suddenly remembered passing Laella in the hallways. She had noticed him walking towards her, and she jumped in fright before running off towards her room. It had completely confused Kurt.

But now, the puzzle pieces fell into place.

Kurt could never find a quiet moment, as whenever he was over at the Andersons, he spent his time with Blaine. At school, it was either too crowded or too risky.

Kurt had thought of the young girl as a sister of his own, so he wanted to help her, but only if he could prove his own theory.

He had shooed Blaine and the other couple up, holding up the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone DVD he had taken from the cabinet at the Andersons. So it was just him and Laella on the first level. He had slowly opened the door of the guest bedroom after knocking, realizing that it was unlocked and waited on the bed for the girl to come out.

Laella had moved her arms so that they were behind her back, and she moved in a way that Kurt couldn't see what she was trying to hide.

"Erm, hey Kurt. I'll just be going to Blaine's car to grab my jacket, okay?"

"For what? To hide the scars on your arms?" Kurt wasn't stupid- he had noticed the quick movement of Laella's arms and the tiny crescent-shaped scars lining up her arm.

Laella was stunned and frozen, lost for words. Kurt sighed and walked over towards her. "I knew you were hiding something."

"Kurt, don't tell them, _please_," Laella pleaded.

"Why can't I? They deserve to know." Kurt led her to the bed to sit down, the Harry Potter movie completely forgotten.

"Just…"

_It would kill them._

"Look, Lae, I know it's hard to tell them, but they need to know-"

"Too many people already do." Laella's breath caught in her throat, and she was shaking. "Cam, my friends Elena and Jake, even Ms Pillsbury has been starting to notice something. Quinn… she caught me. I had no choice. But I do have a choice here, right? Please don't tell them." She pleaded desperately, gripping on to Kurt's hand tightly.

Laella saw Kurt's eyes flash with contemplation.

"I'll… I'll get my jacket from the car. Just don't tell them."

"Laella." Kurt finally spoke, his voice final. "Look, I'll be there with you, okay? Blaine and Ethan aren't going to flip really bad because of this, they love you. And I've only met Sienna for a few hours, but she won't stop talking about how precious and adorable you are. They love you. I'm sure they'll support you."

"That's… not what I'm scared about." Laella leant her head against Kurt's shoulder, closing her eyes as he moved to stroke gently at her hair. "They're gonna look at me differently, I can tell, and I _hate_ pity. I hate it when people look at me like that, like they want to fix you but they don't know how. I don't need their pity, I just need them to understand."

"They will, sweetie." Kurt lifted her so she was looking into Kurt's green-blue eyes, filled with care and so much understanding. "I've been there. I know how it feels like confessing to someone your deepest fears."

Laella noticed how Kurt's breathing started to get shallow, and his body language tensed at his own words.

"What-"

"I used to do this too."

Laella froze again, simply staring at Kurt as he started talking.

"It was just a hobby. The bullying was so bad, and I couldn't tell anyone. Even if I did, no one noticed." Kurt looked away for a while before he continued. "One night, I was chopping up potatoes for dinner, and I caught my hand on the knife. It stung at first, and I panicked and ran for the sink to wash it off. Then I made another cut."

He stood up and began pacing the room.

"I don't know how, but it felt so…relieving. Like all the pain just escaped, and I was delightfully numb."

He glanced nervously at the door, hoping that no one else heard all that.

"It wasn't a habit. I only did it when the days were rough, when I felt so alone that if I died that instant no one would notice until they smelt a decaying stench coming from the house. The last time I did it was at Dalton, my first day. I was so jumpy that day, like I kept expecting someone to jump out and push me against the lockers. I hated myself for not being as brave as Blaine, who was so beautiful and strong and was the exact description of the person who could never fall for me, this nervous little boy following him around."

He smiled a little at Laella, who unconsciously looked up, trying to hear if they were still watching the e movie, blissfully unaware about what was happening downstairs.

"We had decided to go for a coffee date, and silly me not only forgot all about it but also forgot to lock the door of my dorm room. He walked into my room when he noticed I was 15 minutes late, and he saw me in the bathroom crying. And all that blood I forgot to wash away."

"So Lae, Blaine understood. He didn't keep going on about how it was his fault, how he didn't notice anything. He just held me close and let me cry it out. Something changed that day, but he didn't treat me differently at all."

Laella got up from the bed and held Kurt's hand tightly. "I didn't know…"

"You didn't have to." Kurt smiled at her. "I stopped in December, way before I met you. Blaine helped me. So there was no need."

"I can't face them…"

"You can, Laella." Kurt said firmly. "Where was that girl who confronted three homophobic jerks the first day I met her? Who defended Blaine against her own father when he tried to set him up with another girl?"

"You heard that?"

"Blaine told me everything." Kurt smiled again. "C'mon, I'll be with you, okay?"

Laella let out a shuddering breath, and followed Kurt out of the room.

* * *

><p><strong>Wow, that was emotionally draining. <strong>

**I hated having to write Kurt like that, but Laella needed to know that she had someone who was going through the same thing as her. And with all the bullying, it would be hard not to do it if it were me.**

**R & R! (:**


	16. Chapter 16: Brothers

**I'm back! With the new chapter.**

**I'm not entirely pleased with some parts of it, but whatever I write seems to come up worse than the previous, so I stuck to the first draft. Enjoy nonetheless.**

**-JessC**

* * *

><p>Chapter 16- Brothers<p>

"Took you long." Blaine piped up as Kurt and Laella entered the room. "You actually missed the part when Hagrid tore open the door like a freaking boss and gave Dudley a pig's tail! YOU MISSED THAT!"

"Blaine, stop jumping, you'll fall off the bed," Kurt chuckled, leaning over to press a kiss against his boyfriend's cheek as he dragged Laella in with him. All signs of courage had left her as soon as they reached the doorframe.

"C'mon, you promised." He hissed a little.

Laella groaned and pulled Kurt out for a little while. "Just…. Just look at Blaine, alright? He's just so freaking happy. I don't want to ruin it. And look at Ethan," she sighed, gesturing into the room at her eldest brother, who was curled up in the loveseat with Sienna watching the movie, giving Blaine full reign of the queen-size bed. "I could tell he missed Sienna so much. Could we at least let them be happy for a while?"

"Honey…" Kurt gave in at Laella's pleading glance. "Fine, later, but we're not leaving the house until you tell them."

* * *

><p>"<em>Doesn't explain why you pulled me in here."<em>

_The boy snorted and staggered as he moved forward so his face was mere inches from Laella's. She winced at the mere distance before looking away._

"_Do you know how fucking sinful those clothes are?"_

_Laella froze a little and scooted backwards, dimly aware of what was going to happen. "Erm…"_

_Tyler braced his arms on either side of her and she realized that she had nowhere to go. "They'll look better on the floor."_

_Oh god._

_Tyler lunged for her as she was paralyzed, pinning her to the ground. "It's a party, anything could happen," he leered. His hands started to rest on her stomach, then made their way slowly up her shirt._

_Laella snapped out of her daze, pushing the boy so he hit a few empty boxes on the other side of the room._

"_I'll just go and…" she fumbled with the door knob, but realized it was locked. _

"_Yeah, I was hoping for a little… privacy."_

_Truthfully? She didn't remember much of what had happened. Her mind had completely blanked out and Tyler had used it to his advantage, pushing her and pinning her to the ground. She struggled but he managed to remove her shirt, throwing it to some far corner of the room._

_Tyler smirked as his eyes moved hungrily over her body._

"_You…. Don't have to do this, Tyler." She tried to reason with him, struggling to escape his strong grip._

_His fingers scraped her skin as he wandered his hands down her body. She got her bearings back and screamed loudly enough to be heard by the people standing near the door outside._

"_Hey! Who's in there?" the series of loud bangs echoed through the locked door._

_Tyler sneered at her. "We're not done here." He quickly got up and unlocked the door as Laella hid from sight. "Nothing, Crumbs, get out!" he slurred as he left the closet._

_She told Elena she felt sick and raced back upstairs before Elena could respond. The first thing she did was to throw up into the toilet, dry heaving even when there was nothing left to get rid of._

"I think I started because of that party." Laella whispered, fidgeting with her fingers. "I seriously can't remember much- it seems like it had been going on forever. And when Cameron, Elena and Jake found out, I managed to hide it from them by creating hiding places for my blades and using them in places other than my arms. It'll be too obvious anyway. "

"Oh… wow. Laella-"

"Don't say anything." Laella sighed as she relaxed into the armchair she was sitting in, averting her gaze from everyone in the room.

"He knows, doesn't he?" Blaine asked. Laella didn't need him to tell her who he was talking about.

"He…. He does. And Blaine!" she protested as Blaine got up from the bed, muttering something about 'something so important and he keeps quiet'. "I told Cam not to tell you, Blaine. I didn't want to let you know."

"Why not?" Blaine's eyes were heartbreaking, and she forced herself to look away from his questioning gaze.

"You think it was easy telling you today in the first place? Absolutely not." Laella sat up, never breaking eye contact with Blaine. "You were in hospital, Blaine. Did you honestly think I would want to add this on the list of things I want you to worry about?"

"What if I did?" Blaine spoke, his voice breaking as he gripped onto the corner of the dresser to contain himself. "I want to know. I don't want you to keep secrets from me or Ethan, especially not something as major as this."

"Why can't I, then?" Laella snapped. "I have my own rights, okay? I can't possibly be telling you everything- help me Blaine, how would you feel if you were me? I mean, you didn't even tell me what dad kept telling you when I was away!"

"Because you're my sister, okay?" Blaine retorted back. "You could've killed yourself, and I might not even be there. How do you think I would feel? And the insults weren't new, you would've known-"

"I was away, okay? I wasn't there, but I had a gist on what he said, just like what he said to me at the airport. Things like how you were ruining me and how he was sending me away so I didn't mix in with 'your kind'. Don't lie to me, Blaine, he said all that, didn't he?"

"I think what Blaine is trying to say," Ethan let out a shuddering breath as he interrupted the argument between his younger siblings, "is that cutting isn't just something you could let slide." He had been silent the entire time after Laella confessed, not daring to speak up. "People have died from this, Lae, even those who didn't mean to. It could be accidental, but it could also be something that went too far. We can't let that happen. What do you think we would feel if we lost you all because we didn't notice a thing?"

Blaine nodded shakily. "We love you. And I know it was hard, but you need to know we would be there for you, no matter what."

Laella let out a sob, her hand immediately reaching up to rub at her eyes, which were threatening to spill with tears she should've cried a long time ago. "I'm so sorry…"

She immediately felt Blaine's arms circle her, and she burrowed her head in his chest as she cried. Ethan joined in, his arms around his two younger siblings, as if trying to shelter them from the world outside.

Kurt and Sienna shared a look. It was hard, they knew. But they also knew how the siblings could manage to overcome it. They just knew they could.

* * *

><p>It was a week after the whole exhausting revelation. Ethan and Blaine rarely left her alone anymore. Her days were spent doing stupid things around the house, once almost breaking the trophy cabinet consisting of Blaine's Dalton years of fencing, Ethan's football trophies (mostly MVP), and Laella's various academic achievements. The Andersons pride themselves on being active in multiple activities, and so the three siblings were expected to be the same. However, Laella always thought that the main thing the three of them were good in was being absolutely dumb. It was oddly endearing, though.<p>

It wasn't like the whole recovery process was easy, like as if dumping all the blades down the drain immediately removed the cravings. It was frustrating to watch yourself run back to what you were trying to stop, like you had no control over your actions. Laella had a mini panic attack when she had a nightmare and couldn't find the razor blades in her hiding place, and her brothers had heard her screaming and ran to comfort her at 3am in the morning.

Laella started to get antsy and fidgety. Little arguments between her brothers became frequent; she could not withstand the withdrawal. But an entire week had passed and she had not cut.

It was called progress, right?

So that day during Glee practice, Laella was zoning in and out, wrapped up in her own thoughts while Mr Schuester was making this speech about Nationals. She had only snapped back in reality when out of the corner of her eye, she had seen Blaine raising up his hand.

"Mr Schue, can I say something?"

Mr Schuester had nodded and gave Blaine the floor. Blaine had gotten up and walked over nervously, finally looking up into the pairs of eyes looking back at him.

"So… what I'm planning to talk about has nothing to do with Nationals, but can you guys bear with me?"

He had received a few nods and murmurs, and began to speak.

"Lae, this is for you."

All eyes had turned to the sophomore, who glanced around nervously at the attention she was receiving, turning to Blaine to shake her head. _I don't want to tell them._

"Please, just listen to me." Blaine breathed in deeply. "The past week has been exhausting for us, I know. But all Ethan and I want to do is to help you. You can understand that, right?"

"Blaine," Laella sighed, "can we just discuss this at home?"

"No, you need to hear me out here." Blaine's voice was firm. "I know it had become a habit for you, but you can't always put up your walls around yourself when you think you can't do it. So, we'll always try to break them down, and I know it may feel annoying to you but we really want to help you. But we can't do that if you don't open up to us."

He grabbed the guitar that was lying against the piano leg and slung it on. "Kurt, baby, can you come here and help me?"

Kurt nodded and smiled, moving towards the piano. Brad was sick and had taken the day off, leaving the club with no pianist for the day. He nodded again towards Blaine and started to play.

Blaine started strumming onto the guitar, smiling when Laella began to recognize the song.

_If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea,_

_I'll sail the world to find you_

_If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see,_

_I'll be the light to guide you_

Kurt joined in halfway, smiling at Blaine as he continued to play the piano.

_Find out what we're made of_

_When we are called to help our friends in need_

Blaine stopped playing for a while to kiss Kurt on the cheek, igniting a stream of 'awwwws' and giggles as Kurt smiled playfully back at him.

_You can count on me like 1 2 3_

_I'll be there_

_And I know when I need it I can count on you like 4 3 2_

_And you'll be there_

_Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah_

_Wooooh, Wooooh_

_yeah Yeah_

Laella cracked a small smile as Blaine beckoned for her to come over. She did, moving towards the piano seat to sit with Kurt as Blaine turned towards them to continue singing.

_If you toss and you turn and you just can't fall asleep_

_I'll sing a song beside you_

_And if you ever forget how much you really mean to me_

_Everyday I will remind you_

_Ohh_

_Find out what we're made of_

_When we are called to help our friends in need_

Kurt nudged at her and Laella mouthed 'fine,' as he gestured for her to sing.

_You can count on me like 1 2 3_

_I'll be there_

_And I know when I need it I can count on you like 4 3 2_

_You'll be there_

_Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah_

_Wooooh, Wooooh_

_Yeah Yeah_

It was the perfect combination- soprano, alto and tenor. Meanwhile, the entire club had started to sing along, creating a chorus of voices that echoed out into the hallways.

_You'll always have my shoulder when you cry_

_I'll never let go_

_Never say goodbye_

Many of the members had slowly started to tear up, faced with the prospect of saying goodbye. Quinn had made her way over to Kurt and Laella, hugging them all of a sudden and catching them off guard as they giggled.

_You can count on me like 1 2 3_

_I'll be there_

_And I know when I need it I can count on you like 4 3 2_

_You'll be there_

_Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah_

_Wooooh, Wooooh_

_you can count on me cos' I can count on you_

Blaine finished the song off with a flourish. Everybody cheered and hugged each other, before turning to face the front again.

"What was going on just now between the two of you?" Finn asked curiously, pointing to Laella and Blaine. The siblings looked at each other nervously. Laella closed her eyes momentarily. She could do this.

"I have something to tell you guys."

* * *

><p>As expected, she had gotten mixed reactions from the club.<p>

The girls had cried while Laella told her story, and the girl stopped her story halfway to say, "Oh my god, don't cry, I'll cry too and you'll never hear the end of it," with a small laugh, which brought a smile to the girls' faces but the smiles slowly faded as she continued talking.

The boys were overprotective, nothing new. They had wanted to 'go all the way to that reform school and bash Adams' face where it belonged' and swore to whatever they believed in that if they ever got a chance to go to Colorado, they would hunt down the boy who had attacked Laella during the party. Laella calmed them down with a "Guys, sit down- Puck, don't glare at me. We already have had one in juvie, we don't need seven more."

Eventually, the subject was changed, with everyone busy discussing Nationals outfits and the things they would do in Chicago. They were on the topic of Chicago, the musical itself when Tina spoke up.

"Hey Lae, do your parents know?"

The whole club grew silent as Laella and Blaine exchanged shocked looks. They had actually forgotten all about their own parents.

"Seriously, you haven't? This is pretty damn important." Mike said.

"Our parents are always overseas- in fact they're on one now and won't be back until after we return from Nationals," Blaine sighed, scratching his head.

"It's not like we dare either… they don't even acknowledge the fact that Blaine's gay and has a boyfriend, how am I supposed to tell them if they continue to be that ignorant?" Laella rolled her eyes. Blaine nodded sadly, gripping on tightly to Kurt's hand and leaning their heads together.

"Well, you can't exactly hide this forever," Mercedes reasoned. "They're still your parents; they'll be bound to find out sooner or later."

"I'm not telling them until they get their priorities straight."

"But you'll tell them soon? Or else I would have to, guys. Trust me, it wouldn't be my choice, but I want to help you two." Mr Schuester said.

Laella groaned. "Fine. After Nationals. When they come back and they actually stay for over two weeks." She looked at Blaine and Kurt. "And the two of you are coming with me. We're not done with this. I want them to accept you the way you are."

Blaine nodded. "We'll do it together."

* * *

><p><strong>R&amp;R!<strong>

**Watch out for a certain someone the next chapter. :D**


	17. Chapter 17: Boyfriends

**Yay new chapter!**

**This is situated the day after Nationals. I took the day of the episode as the day they won, and then gave them a day to… go shopping and celebrate? And then they took a midnight flight back to Ohio.**

**Enjoy! It's mainly fluff anyway. Some bits of Klaine and of Laella/Cameron (Laemeron?). Also, a reminder to you that Blaine is a senior in the story, and that means he'd have planned to move to New York with Kurt (NYADA or no NYADA). You know them.**

**This is unbeta'd again. Sigh. I decided not to bother my beta because she has her exams coming up, so I hope you bear with it.**

**-JessC**

* * *

><p>Chapter 17- Boyfriends<p>

"HELLO, OHIO!"

"Shush!" Santana snapped sleepily, as the tired group hauled their luggage across the hall. Nobody could understand how Sam could be so energetic and hyper at 3am in the morning when their slumber on the plane had been disrupted by a mild turbulence which kept everybody awake for a full 15 minutes.

The trophy was being held by Artie, who was the only other person fully awake but had to make sure that the various bags dumped onto his wheelchair did not drop off. Many bystanders stopped in their tracks to admire the glistening trophy.

The weary group of National Show Choir Champions crossed the gate and reached the arrival hall, and was met with loud applause from the people waiting for their loved ones. News travelled fast in Lima. Mainly because there was never any news in Lima.

Everyone woke up a little more as they heard the applause.

"This is something I'm used to." Rachel said, grinning at her 'loving audience' and bowing.

The club looked at each other in amazement. The news had not fully sunk into their heads yet. They had won a _national_ competition.

For the next few days, they could walk the streets as champions. Them, the sixteen misfits from public school, who were all from different backgrounds but had came together with their love for music.

"Wow," was the only word Mike could say. The rest nodded their heads in agreement.

Waving at the growing crowd (Artie holding up the trophy in triumph which resulted in a few bags falling, eliciting a scramble to retrieve their belongings), they found a few rows of chairs vacant, and they promptly collapsed into them.

Their parents would take a while to arrive; 3am was not a conducive time to be productive.

_Got her distracted?_

_Yeah, she's at the café with Kurt, getting coffees for us, we need it._

Which wasn't the case for one Ethan Anderson.

"BLAAAAAIIIIINE!"

"Why is it always me?" Blaine grumbled, but smiled a little as he hugged Ethan and Sienna. He noticed a boy trailing nervously behind Ethan. "Erm… who's- oh." he stopped. He actually forgot the main reason why he distracted his sister and sent Kurt to help her. "Hi, Cameron."

The boy smiled shyly, his left hand fiddling with his shirt as he held out his right hand to shake Blaine's. He was not that tall- in fact; he was around the same height as Blaine. He was just the right build for a hockey player.

"Where's she?" Cameron finally spoke, glancing around.

"We're surprising her, hope you don't mind?" Ethan grinned. He turned to the New Directions, who were all starting to look curious. "Wow, there are more of you than we thought… you guys need to help us hide Cameron here."

"Who's that?"

"Lae's boyfriend." Quinn grinned, stepping out to meet the boy. "I'm Quinn, by the way. You met me in those Skype chats."

"Quinn!" Cameron laughed. They high fived and Cameron looked a little more relaxed. "Hi! You're… taller in person."

The girls in the group giggled a little. "He's cute." Sugar announced. "You're cute." She turned to Cameron.

Cameron smiled. "Thanks for the compliment, but I'm taken."

"By someone who's walking down the hall now?"

Everybody jumped at Rory's statement. "Move, move, move," Ethan urged, and everybody started to form a not-so-subtle circle around Cameron.

"Coffee!" Laella grinned, dropping the tray onto an empty seat. She was the only one apart from Sam and Artie who was unbelievably wide awake. Kurt joined her soon after, grasping his coffee in one hand while balancing another tray in the other. Noticing that Laella hadn't noticed the two new arrivals (or three), he twirled her in the right direction. Laella squealed and ran over to hug her brother, who was still wearing a huge smirk on his face.

"Why are you guys all standing?" Kurt quirked an eyebrow at his friends.

"It's a surprise!" Brittany piped up.

Laella pulled away from Sienna and shared an equally puzzled look with Kurt. Blaine got up and whispered something in Kurt's ear, which made him smirk.

"Am I the only one who doesn't know anything?" Laella asked, narrowing her eyes at her brother.

"Remember what day is it today?" Blaine turned to ask Laella.

The girl tilted her head, glancing at the watch. "May 24th?" she answered. "What does that have to do with- _oh_," she whispered, recognition clouding on her face.

Maybe some parts of her were still not awake yet, if she could even forget her own birthday.

"Oh my god, I can't believe you actually forgot," Quinn giggled.

"Shut up," Laella groaned, covering her blushing face with her hands. "It is 30am, I have not slept properly for 15 hours because you guys just can't stop talking, and _ugh,_" she sighed. "How do you annoying upperclassmen do it?"

"Chill, woman," Sienna smiled as she wrapped an arm around Laella's shoulders. "At least someone didn't forget."

Laella just stared at her. "What?"

Ethan nodded subtly and the group separated to allow Cameron to walk through. Sienna stood strategically so that Laella's back was facing the group, so Cameron went unnoticed by the sophomore.

Cameron knew he was going to be teased a lot by the older Andersons on being stupidly lovesick, but he couldn't help it. He hurried and when he was close, he wrapped his arms around Laella's waist. "Happy birthday, sweetie."

Laella froze. She quickly spun around and let out a gasp. "Y-You're here?"

"No, I'm on Mars," Cameron smiled affectionately, reaching in to rub their noses together.

Snapping out of her reverie, Laella squealed and almost tackled Cameron, hugging him tightly. Cameron almost stumbled, but he lifted her up and spun her around, both of them giggling like preschoolers. "I missed you so much, how did you get here?" Laella rambled, still stunned.

"The school term ends early in Austin, remember?" Cameron grinned. "I wanted to come surprise you, and I brought it up with your brothers. They said I could stay over for a week. What do you think?"

"As long as you two sleep in separate rooms." Ethan laughed, grinning even more broadly when Laella broke away from Cameron's embrace for a while to punch him in the shoulder. She smiled. "Thanks for bringing him."

She turned back to her boyfriend. "And I was worrying that tonight was going to be another Skype night again." She whispered, nuzzling her face into his neck.

"Never gonna happen." Cameron kissed her temple, holding her close.

"I'm actually scared that's going to be me and Sam. Sorry for your dental bills in advance." Mercedes smiled.

"So, what base have you covered?"

"PUCK!" Laella groaned, turning to snap at the senior.

"What? Just asking, no need to get so defensive. Unless?" Puck grinned.

"Nothing you need to know." Laella glared, willing at him to shut up.

"Oh god, please don't talk about my little sister getting some," Blaine mock-groaned, shooting Laella a sly smirk.

"I should be worrying about myself," Laella scoffed. "My speakers have suffered abuse for 7 months because of you."

"I KNEW IT! Hummel's getting some!" It was now Finn's turn to punch Puck in the shoulder. "Now it's _my_ brother, dude," he protested.

"This isn't what I expected the conversation to steer over to," Emma whispered.

"Okay stop, people are staring," Tina laughed.

* * *

><p>"I still can't believe you're here," Laella giggled, flopping onto the bed once she stepped into her room.<p>

"Me neither, but it's worth it," Cameron smiled, placing the luggage in a corner and lay down next to Laella. The both turned on their sides to look at each other. Laella placed a hand on Cameron's cheek and he leant into it.

"Hi." Laella whispered, sneaking a kiss.

"Hi," Cameron wrapped his arms around Laella and pulled her close.

Nose kisses were their thing. It wasn't like they haven't kissed in the normal way, but it felt like they were even closer than even possible. It just made them feel secure and warm.

"I love you."

Laella snuggled into Cameron's chest and inhaled into his shirt.

"This is new, isn't it?"

Laella froze. She looked down at her hands, unwilling to meet his eyes. "Y-Yes."

Cameron pulled both of them up to a sitting position. He kept his hands on Laella's arms, his thumb tracing one of the deeper scars that had not faded away. "I… I thought you stopped. You told me that."

Laella finally looked up, and startled when she found that Cameron's eyes were brimming with unshed tears. "Cam…" she whispered, cupping his face with her hands. "Don't cry, please… let me explain." Her voice shook. Cameron looked into her eyes and nodded.

"I did stop after you found out." Laella started, looking down. "But after I moved here… I had no choice. I missed you so fucking much. My friends were all back in Colorado, I had no one my age I knew here. I had Blaine, but I didn't want to intrude into his time with Kurt. He was so happy- the happiest I've ever seen him. I didn't want to ruin it. I felt so lonely here."

"I kept thinking you were going to leave me, to find a better person." She ignored Cameron's attempt of rebutting the comment. "You could have anyone you chose. Those girls on the cheerleading team kept flirting with you even when I was around. Even Elena had a crush on you before."

"And…" Laella breathed. She hadn't told Cameron anything about the Azimio incident. He did know about the party and the bashing, but nothing else.

"You were trying to tell me something, weren't you?" Cameron urged.

"I…"

"Did someone do something to you?"

She said nothing.

"Please talk to me, sweetie," she felt Cameron pulling her even more impossibly close.

"Fine." Laella pulled away, her hands lingering on Cameron's arms, which were still holding her by the waist.

And she told him everything. From the classroom, to the shopping trip, to getting cornered by him while walking to the bus stop.

Cameron quickly leant in to kiss the tears falling from Laella's eyes. "He's gone now, isn't he? It's safe now."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It was finals week, and I didn't want to worry you- especially when you were taking so many subjects, and…" she whispered.

"I love you so much."

"How is that possible? I just keep running into shit everywhere I go."

"No you don't. Look at me." Cameron said, raising his girlfriend's face to meet his. "You," he kissed her forehead, "are," he kissed both her wet cheeks "so beautiful," he finally kissed her on the lips. Laella finally smiled into the kiss. "I don't deserve you." She whispered as they broke apart.

"You're nothing like those girls at our school, Laella. You're special. You're not some copy, or some person who loves throwing herself around like she doesn't matter. And I need you to know that you are so beautiful and that I love you so much it hurts everyday when you're apart from me. I know we're just sophomores, and we might sound young and naïve, but I can't imagine my life without you."

Laella choked back a sob and wrapped her arms around Cameron's neck, holding tight. "I don't deserve you," she repeated.

Cameron just smiled. "Me neither. Now let's go watch something with someone hot for each of us." "Don't you dare drool all over me." Laella glared, which slowly turned into her grinning as she cuddled up to Cameron. "I'm sure we could find something, I Ti-Vo'd a lot of movies during summer."

* * *

><p>"Blaine, stop worrying. Cameron's a gentleman." Kurt rolled his eyes and smiled at his boyfriend, who was eyeing the staircase every 10 seconds.<p>

"We've only known him for a few minutes," Blaine pouted. "We won't know his real intentions."

Kurt laughed and planted a kiss on Blaine's nose. "You and Ethan scared the poor boy when you took him into the living room for your 'private discussion'. Leave him alone. Laella has a good eye." Seeing that Blaine was still hesitant, he grabbed Blaine's wrist. "Okay, move, give them some privacy." Ignoring Blaine's protests, Kurt pulled him out of the door in the kitchen which led to the backyard.

"Tis a beautiful day in this stupid town of Lima, Ohio," Kurt began, his voice imitating the announcer at the football games he always saw Blaine watch with Finn and his father. "And all through the town, everybody just sucks- hey!"

Blaine had tackled him and they fell onto the grass, giggling. Blaine rolled on top of Kurt and kissed him on every part of bare skin he could find. "Blaine!" Kurt laughed, fighting to push his boyfriend off.

"You need to stop being so adorable," Blaine growled playfully, and then they were kissing until they had to break apart to gasp for air.

"At least that got you busy," Kurt smirked.

"Sure." Blaine said coyly, cuddling into his boyfriend's side as they gazed at the moving clouds.

"I need something like that in our room in New York," Kurt began, his finger tracing a cloud shaped like a small dog.

"What, the sky? Kurt Hummel, I don't think I can steal the sky for you, much less any part of it. There's no law for it, but I'll get arrested if the authorities see a black hole in the middle of the sky."

"Not literally the sky, you doofus." Kurt scoffed. "Won't it be beautiful to wake up to that everyday?"

"Unless it's raining."

"Your head is just filled of nonsense." Kurt rolled the two of them over so that he was on top, and he rested his head on Blaine's chest. "But the rain gives us an excuse to stay in and cuddle, right?"

Blaine's heart warmed as he thought of the fact that Kurt was so sure that they would be living together. They had been dating for a year and 1 month, but Kurt surprised him every day.

"I don't think I'll be able to wake up any day if you're around being so cuddly and clingy." He winked, sneaking a kiss.

"I'll try my best not to," Kurt winked back.

They shared lazy kisses until the sky started to go dark, when Ethan called them in for dinner. They ran back in together holding hands, and joined their extended family at the table, that now included Cameron, who continued to hold hand with Laella throughout the dinner, trying and failing to eat with his left hand. And they would laugh and Laella will slowly pull her intertwined hand from Cameron's right hand. "Go eat properly, dummy." She would smile and kiss his cheek when he pouted, trying to pull off making puppy eyes.

And Kurt would go, "Oh god, were we really that sickening cute?" and Ethan would go "YES," really loudly in an exasperated tone, which resulted in Blaine and Laella poking him in the arm with their forks, going "We had to put up with the two of you, how sickening was that compared to us?" And the siblings will bicker about the most stupid things while Kurt, Sienna and Cameron share a knowing look across the table. _Dorks, but they love them anyway._

And they would laugh and sink into easy chatter. The Anderson household was a happy place, but only for the time being.

* * *

><p><strong>R &amp; R! Hope you liked Cameron! My OCs are my babies. Enjoy the fluff while it lasts. ;)<strong>


	18. Chapter 18: Confrontation

**So basically…**

**I finished the chapter a week ago.**

**Then when I wanted to post it, I felt like something was off. So I wrote the entire thing all over again. But it still sounded weird. So I thought of something entirely different again. It took a while.**

**I don't have many excuses for my 1 month disappearance, only apologies. For those people who stuck with me, you're all special snowflakes and I appreciate each and everyone of you. :D**

**-JessC**

* * *

><p>Chapter 18- Confrontation<p>

"What are you doing here?" Blaine asked incredulously as his sister walked into his room.

Laella sighed, clutching a piece of paper in her hands tightly. "I'm… writing to my therapist. It's something to do with my treatment. But it just feels weird doing it alone. Since Cameron went back yesterday... can I stay here until I finish it?"

"Sure," Blaine smiled, gesturing for her to sit on one of the couches. "Kurt is out, so you can stay as long as you want."

* * *

><p>"<em>Is this Robert Anderson?"<em>

"Yes, may I help you?"

"_This is Jared Wilson. I need to talk to you."_

"Can it wait? I'm busy."

"_No, it's important … It's about your son."_

Robert Anderson froze a little. "Which one?" He hastily stepped into his office situated in New York, where he was now.

"_The younger one."_

"What about Blaine?" Robert asked curiously. "What did he do?" He closed the door, and slowly sat down at his office chair.

"_Your son's a faggot."_ Jared Wilson snapped harshly, before the phone clicked.

That was when Robert noticed the new email icon that popped up on his computer. He clicked on it warily.

Was that…? Robert could not believe his eyes. That boy with the slick hair was Blaine all right, but what was he doing? Blaine was hand in hand with another boy with light brown hair, both giggling as they watched a group of teenagers play basketball. He recognized an Asian boy who had been over at the house when he was home to have study sessions with Blaine. Then there was a picture of them in someplace secluded, noses and foreheads together as they clasped hands, blissfully unaware to the world around them.

His eyes flashed with rage. There were times when Blaine had admitted it, but Robert thought that he had taught the boy what he wanted. He couldn't date this boy, who he constantly referred to as 'your friend', as much for his son to get the idea.

It was morally wrong. It wasn't normal. He had to correct him before it was too late.

"Ethan. How could you let your brother run around with that boy?"

"You mean Kurt, his _boyfriend_? Dad, it's been about time you caught on." Ethan's voice was cold as he addressed his father, clutching the phone tightly with anger.

"I thought… with you and Sienna, Blaine could understand what he had to do to be normal."

"Normal? Dad, Blaine is normal. Kurt is normal. You're not, because you're blinded with prejudice. I'm done talking to you." Ethan hissed as he slammed the phone down onto his receiver.

Left with a dial tone, Robert rubbed his hand on his face.

"Robert? Our flight is here."

The Andersons were catching an early flight back home, a week before they were due to arrive.

* * *

><p>"Do you hear something?" Laella froze in the middle of writing.<p>

"No… I didn't?" Blaine raised an eyebrow at Laella, who was perking up her ears.

"No, I swear I heard something familiar. I think it was… oh my god." The last part was said in a whisper and Laella rushed to peer outside the window.

"You're scaring me, Lae." Blaine spoke confusedly.

The hollow tone in Laella's voice alerted Blaine. "Dad and Mom are back."

"Oh god. This can't be good. They never return early. Either they return on the day they said they'd arrive, or later than usual."

"Blaine Anderson!"

Blaine froze at the demanding tone in his father's voice.

"I know you're here!"

They heard footsteps getting louder, and then Blaine's bedroom door flew open. Mr Anderson's eyes bulged heavily as he glared at his younger son. Laella jumped and quickly hid the letter behind her back.

"What do you want?" Blaine warned.

"Robert, can this wait? Take some time to calm down?" Blaine's mother pleaded, gripping on tightly to her husband's arm.

Robert shot one last glare at Blaine and left the room.

Their mother followed, and the siblings glanced nervously at each other. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Blaine whispered back. "Go back to your room. I'll handle it, it's my business. He's not pushing you down any more stairs." He quickly texted Ethan for backup.

"I-" Laella started to protest, but was cut off by the look in her brother's eyes. It was demanding, but overprotective at the same time. "Fine."

Yes, she did say she was going to tell her parents about her cutting, but right now she could not control her nerves.

She inched towards the door, and peered out into the doorway. As soon as she saw her furious father walking towards her, she yelped and went back into the room. "He's coming already."

"What are you hiding behind there?" Robert asked his daughter, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Laella kept her hands firmly behind her back, her fingernails creasing the paper as she clutched it tightly.

"She doesn't have to tell you if she doesn't want to." Blaine said, glaring at his dad.

Robert's eyes flashed. "Give me that."

Mr Anderson had this secret ability. He was able to convince anyone to do anything, with the mere power of his eyes. After a few seconds, Laella relented under the piercing glare and handed him the letter with shaking hands.

Mr Anderson snatched the paper from her and skimmed through the half-finished letter. That was when Ethan rushed in, perspiring and out of breath. He stopped when he saw his father. "…hi Dad. What brings you here so early? You said you weren't coming back until nest Wednesday." He asked, attempting to act nonchalant as he shot questioning looks at Blaine, who shook his head in confusion. Ethan walked over towards Laella, who was shaking, her face pale. "What's going on?"

"He's going to find out."

"What is all this nonsense, Laella?" Robert demanded, gesturing towards the letter.

"You call this nonsense?" Ethan glared.

"Well obviously you're just lying, right?"

"You-" Blaine growled, taking a threatening step forward. Ethan flung out an arm to stop him from advancing forward.

"No… it's okay, Blaine. I have to do this." She closed her eyes and slowly, she rolled up her sleeves. "One year and six months. Blaine was the one who convinced me to stop. Please, Dad, don't do anything to him." Laella pleaded.

"Speaking of that…" Robert looked towards a defiant Blaine. "Who's this boy?" he threw a bunch of photographs in Blaine's face, who winced and picked them up.

"He's my boyfriend, Dad." Blaine rolled his eyes. "_Duh_."

"Don't you dare take that kind of attitude towards me, Blaine Carter. Are you out to ruin my reputation?"

"Robert, you know they won't do that-" their mother protested.

"Sarah, please," Mr Anderson glanced towards his wife. He turned again to glare at Blaine and Laella. "I have run this house for 21 years, and I will not tolerate anyone who goes against the rules."

"Funny way of running." Blaine scoffed. "I'm pretty sure you were just running away from us."

"The only memories I have of my childhood are those with my brothers." Laella added.

"How dare you talk back! And Blaine, I taught you better not to resort to this lifestyle! What about Isabelle Carter? You liked each other."

"This is not simply a lifestyle, Dad!" Blaine yelled, fists clenching at his sides. "How many times have I told you? I love Kurt. We've been together for more than 1 year, and I'll be damned if I wasn't planning on marrying him! And as for Isabelle, she actually knows and understands, which is what you're supposed to do. We're just friends. Mr Carter just doesn't approve of the guy she's dating."

"It's not normal!"

"Dad, when you think about it, Jesus never said anything about gay people." Laella offered timidly, flinching when Robert turned to look at her.

"And Kurt's father is Senator Hummel, by the way." Ethan quipped. "You need to learn that being gay isn't a lifestyle. You were born that way. And I can actually understand Laella better than you can. Shipping her off to some boarding school and separating her from us is not going to help her."

"You mean you agree to… to this?" Mr Anderson asked disbelievingly.

"They're my siblings. Kurt is like a brother to me. I don't see any problem." Ethan replied, shrugging.

"I'm sure you know that my parents are Christians too, Dad." Sienna added, watching from the doorway. "And they support Blaine."

"But I don't understand…" Mr Anderson said, his eyes glancing furtively to his children. "Ethan… turned out fine…"

"I'm not perfect, either. Dad, Blaine and Laella might have flaws that you might not approve of, but they're still your kids. If you would just learn to accept them the way they are, I'll gladly help you through the process. But you constantly refuse to." Ethan said defiantly.

"Let me count the ways." Laella answered. "My award ceremonies, from second to ninth grade- and I'm pretty sure you're missing next week's. Elementary and middle school graduation. Various performances I can't just count on one hand. Do you know how disappointing it is? You kept promising that you'll show up, but I can't exactly lift my hopes up, right? Something, anything, had came up, and so _sorry, Laella, I'll have to miss this one._ My friend Elena's parents go to every one of her concerts, and they're _divorced_. If you have so much money to travel everywhere, why couldn't you make it just for one?"

She stopped for a moment and looked down, conscious of all the eyes trained onto her. "D-do you know how lonely I felt for the past 4 years? How do you think it feels starting middle school in a foreign environment, not knowing anyone there except your friend who acted as my guardian?" She pointed to the fading scars on her arms. "This… I didn't choose to resort to this. I just needed to get away from all these feelings of guilt and anger."

She buried her head in her hands, shaking.

"No... but… my work needs me, you should understand…" Mr Anderson adjusted his cufflinks, expression now a little less severe at his daughter's outburst.

"Dad, I know Ohio isn't a very accepting place of people… people like me."Blaine said hesitantly. "But all I want is for my own father to accept me for who I am and not ignore the truth." His thumb absentmindedly traced Kurt's face in one of the photographs. "IF you met Kurt, you'll like him, Dad. I swear." He crossed the room towards his sister and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. "And as for Lae, Dad, I can't blame her for doing what she did. I almost couldn't stop myself after Sadie Hawkin's."

Mr Anderson glanced towards each of his three children. He finally started to realize how much he had missed out on their lives. It was as if Ethan had just started middle school, Blaine was still in elementary school and Laella was still a little toddler.

Ethan looked more athletic and muscular than before, sporting a tan. He was already towering over his father. Blaine had grown out of his bowties (maybe not, he thought, as he noticed the box of bowties next to the closet, but he had filled out and looked much stronger than the scared little boy in elementary school, who cried everyday because of the bullies in school. Laella had grown out her auburn hair, the only person who inherited the hair colour from their mother, and now had a more mature look around her.

Sure, he was back for a few days, before travelling out for more, but by bringing in income for his family, he had missed out so much.

"I'll try." He said finally. All three siblings looked up. "I can't confirm that it'll be immediate, but I want to do this. For our family."

"Are you sure?" Laella was scared to ask. She had enough of his empty promises. Many times had he promised one thing, but meant another the next day.

"I want to do it. Give me a chance, Lily." Her dad placed his hands comfortingly on her shoulders. He looked up towards Blaine. "Blaine, I'm sorry I couldn't be a better father for you." He was contemplative for a while, before adding, "And if you want to invite your boyfriend over next week for dinner, I'll let you."

Laella cracked a soft smile at her long unused pet name. Blaine's eyes widened in shock when his father brought up Kurt as his boyfriend and not just as his 'friend'. He ducked his head. "Thanks, Dad."

"Yeah, thank you. I'm happy you're willing to do this for us."

"I will do anything for you. Don't forget that."

"It's a good decision you're making here, Dad." Ethan smiled. "I hope you realize that."

* * *

><p><strong>It's not as good as what I expected it to turn out, but this is the best I can come up with.<strong>

**R&R!**


	19. Chapter 19: Fears

**Hellooooooooo!**

**This is the…. 4****th**** last chapter? That is if I'm planning on adding a chapter with them at the airport seeing Klaine off before they head to New York. Hmm, we'll see. I change my mind easily.**

**And for the record, yes, I was bawling when I saw the spoiler pictures. ;_;**

**-Py**

* * *

><p>Chapter 19- Fears<p>

"No. For the hundredth time, and more to come, no."

Blaine gritted his teeth, hand curling into a fist on the table. _How dare he?_ "He's not going to expect things to become normal between him and Laella after all the shit he did to her."

"Blaine, just sit down-"

"How could you just sit there and be so calm about this?!" Blaine exploded at his brother.

* * *

><p>Laella froze when she heard loud voices coming from the living room. The door was locked. Looking around, she placed her bags at the side of the door and placed her ear near the keyhole, trying to listen into as much of the conversation as possible.<p>

Back in the living room, Ethan, Blaine and their father were sitting around the coffee table. Or rather, Blaine was on his feet, pacing the room and wringing his hands together. Ethan watched him and sighed. "He sounded like he really wanted to make amends."

"Yeah, right." Blaine scoffed. "Which is totally why he and his group sent Kurt death threats, attacked me and Kurt and assaulted Lae and eventually made her scared of herself. I can totally see where all the regret is coming from."

"Blaine…" Ethan sighed. "People make mistakes. But that doesn't mean they don't deserve a second chance to change."

Blaine stuffed his hands in his pockets. He finally stopped pacing, looking down and agreeing silently. He had accused Kurt of cheating on him, with absolutely no valid reason and at the wrong time too. And Kurt had willingly forgiven him for that.

So why couldn't he do it?

"You don't see things the way I do." He began, shaking. "Both of you are rarely at home, you don't notice anything."

"What are you trying to say, Blaine?" their father asked.

"It's not over. It was never over."

* * *

><p>"<em>I'll be back, I'm just going to get some water." Blaine whispered, extracting himself from a sleepy Kurt, who simply mumbled and drifted back into sleep. He reached for the remote, and turning off the television, he padded softly in his slippers and left the room.<em>

_It was 1am in the Anderson household and Blaine simply couldn't get to sleep. As he made his was downstairs, he figured he could try to find some milk to drink before trying to get to sleep._

_As he treaded slowly upstairs with his glass of milk, he heard a distant scream. He jumped and the glass almost fell from his hands._

_It sounded familiar._

_He placed the glass of milk on a nearby table and walked down the hallway to his sister's bedroom. The screams were ongoing, and they were getting more hysterical by the second. Blaine quickened his footsteps and opened the door, glad that it wasn't locked. _

_When he saw Laella tossing and turning around in her bed, he muttered an expletive under his breath and ran over to her. _

"_Lae? Lae, wake up! It's just a nightmare!"_

_He had read it somewhere that forcing a person to wake up might do detrimental things to their health, but at the same time, he could not stand there helpless. _

_He gripped Laella's shoulder firmly. "It's a nightmare. Wake up. It's okay, I'm here. It's Blaine." His voice cracked and his grip tightened._

Please please please…

_Laella's eyes flew open and she immediately shot up. She looked around frantically. "Blaine?" she whispered. "Where's he? He was here just now! He –he tried to…"_

_Biting his lip, Blaine wrapped his arms around his sister and held her to his chest. "He's not here. He's gone, he's in juvie, he can't hurt you anymore." He chanted those words like a rhythm._

"_He was going to kill you and Kurt and Ethan and Dad and Mom and he was going to make me watch…" Now her screams had subsided into choking sobs, and she held onto Blaine's arm, as if she could not believe he was alive and there._

"_It's okay, it's okay…" Blaine whispered in her hair, holding her tightly. _

"_Don't tell them." Laella said abruptly, and Blaine knew who she was talking about._

"_I can't promise that, Lae."_

"_Please," she now turned to face Blaine, with tearstained cheeks and red eyes. "Ethan has more things to worry about. Dad's having that big business deal. Please don't tell them, Blaine. It won't happen again."_

_Blaine hesitated. "…and what if it does?"_

_Laella shook her head. "It won't."_

_They just stared at each other, Blaine a little disbelieving. Finally, he relented._

* * *

><p>"It did." Blaine sighed, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes.<p>

He looked up, meeting the stunned eyes of his brother and father.

"I promised not to tell you guys. It was the least I could do. But then it happened again and again, and after receiving that stupid letter," he casted a glare at the opened letter, the topic of the current matter "I just have to."

"I shouldn't have moved out." Ethan looked down, unable to meet anyone's eyes.

Mr Anderson was absorbed in another matter entirely. He was staring at a shadow below the door that wasn't there when they first started the conversation. He had his suspicions.

"Laella, come in. No need to be all so secretive like that."

All three Anderson siblings jumped. Laella in particular squeaked when she heard her father's voice and hesitated, not knowing what to do. The door swung open and Blaine beckoned her in. "Sorry. I had to tell them." He whispered.

"It's… it's okay." She shot a fleeting smile which soon disappeared as she stepped further into the living room. Her father motioned to the chair beside him and she sat down apprehensively, aware of all the eyes on her.

"How much did you hear?" her father was the first person to speak.

"Most of it, I guess," she mumbled, fiddling with her fingers. "But I…. still don't understand why you're bringing it up all of a sudden. It doesn't matter anymore."

"It doesn't matter?" Blaine started to speak, but Ethan placed a hand on his shoulder and he stopped. Ethan slid the piece of paper lying on the desk towards Laella, and she caught it. "Read it."

The letter that had been causing such discomfort in the living room was now sitting in Laella's hands. She opened it up and scanned through it. And then she did it again.

"He wants to talk to me?"

Blaine sighed and sank down into his chair, head in his hands. His muffled grunt was all Laella needed.

"But… but he…" Laella stood still as memories flashed through her head.

"Lae?" Mr Anderson asked worriedly once he saw his daughter's tormented expression. Laella winced and shook her head, trying to clear her mind.

"It's entirely your decision, of course. We can't stop you," Ethan spoke up. "This must be on a consensual basis."

"I'll go."

"What?" Blaine burst out. He got up from his chair. "Laella, this is the guy who tormented you for the whole year, and you want to see him?"

"If Karofsky wanted to meet Kurt, would you have allowed it?" Laella said simply.

"Well…. It's completely different! David's changed! He knows right from wrong, and he fully embraces his sexuality now!" Blaine answered exasperatedly. "What makes you think that Adams' changed?"

"Because I believe in giving people second chances." Laella stood up as well and placed a hand on Blaine's elbow. "I'm not stupid. I remember clearly what he had done to me. And everything he had done to you and Kurt. But… he just needs guidance from the right people." Her voice shook a little, but she stood firm on her ground.

Blaine sighed. It was the same line over and over again.

But deep down he knew his family was right.

* * *

><p>The Ohio delinquent centre was a scary place.<p>

Surrounded by barbed wire, the grey building overlooked the car park as the Andersons drove in. Next to the car park was a fenced basketball court, where many teenage boys had stopped their game to observe the new arrivals. Most of them leered at Laella when she got out of the car, but backed away a few inches when her brothers followed her out.

"What a nice and hospitable place," Blaine remarked sarcastically.

Only a few boys still remained, at the fence, but this time they sneered and laughed. "Visiting me, cutie pie?" a boy chuckled as his friends roared with laughter behind.

"If I were on duty…" Ethan glared sharply at the boy, while keeping a protective arm wrapped around his sister's shoulders. He had recently gotten a job as a policeman, so that he could protect people like his siblings.

"Don't stir up any trouble here, Ethan." Mr Anderson warned. "If they continue, I would personally deal with them myself. Take care of your sister."

"I don't need any help," Laella rolled her eyes.

"I call bull," Blaine whispered. "You're fiddling with your bracelet; you always do that when you're nervous."

Laella looked down and caught herself red-handed. Damn.

She simply glared at her brother, who merely raised an eyebrow and gestured her inside. "I'm a little nervous too, it's okay." he murmured.

"Name please," the receptionist asked.

"Adams, erm," Mr Anderson glanced at the envelope, "05134"

The receptionist raised her eyebrows and her eyes flickered to look at Laella.

"Take a picture, it lasts longer," Laella snapped. _That stupid article._

Lima News had managed to publish a small article of the assault before the Andersons' lawyer managed to hunt them down. Laella and Blaine's names were never revealed, but every day when they went outside people were whispering about it, talking about how 'such a brave young man got this low'. Laella just wanted to drag them by the collar and show them firsthand what that 'brave young man' had done. She wanted to show them the multiple letters she had written to her therapist, the costs of the lawsuit, the nightmares and fear.

But at least no one knew who the victims really were. Or so she hoped.

The receptionist jumped and scurried to the hallway, signaling for a policeman to guide them to the meeting area.

The policeman (Andrew, according to his nametag) led them through a series of doors until they reached a glass booth. Azimio was indeed sitting there, talking quietly to the mediator. They looked up when the Andersons walked in.

Laella paused at the doorway. As she made eye contact with Azimio, she quickly backed away and sat against the wall in the hallway, trying hard not to pass out.

"_You ignored me, and now you're talking back at me, fairy? Fine, go ahead and tell that hobbit brother of yours. I'm sure he will be up against this."_

"…_do anything and I'll fucking kill you."_

"_You're such a fucking slut. You got lucky the last time round." _

"_Fucking whore."_

Her breath hitched as tears started to prickle at the corner of her eyes. It was never this bad.

"Fuck."

She heard someone mutter, and then footsteps started to get louder and louder.

"Get away from me," she whispered, shielding her face with her arms.

"Hey hey hey, it's me, just me. Come back to me," she relaxed significantly as she heard Ethan's voice, and her trembling slowly started to subside.

"We can do this another time." Ethan nodded reassuringly.

Laella shook her head vehemently and stood up on shaky legs. "I have to do this."

Ethan just sighed, but didn't stop her. He led her back into the conference room, squeezing at her shoulder before letting her sit.

Laella took a deep breath and looked up.

Everyone was looking at her. All of them wore worried expressions. Except for Blaine, who was glaring heatedly at Azimio, the latter staring off in the distance.

The mediator for the meeting cleared her throat. "Hello everyone," she said. "Let's get started. I'm Marissa Jennings, and I'll be the mediator today."

"Everyone should understand what this process is about, right?" she received some murmurs of approval, and continued. "So, this process is strictly voluntary, so as for Laella, she could choose to leave any time she wanted. Any questions?"

No one responded.

Marissa reached over and placed her hand gently on Laella's shoulder. "Would you like to start, sweetie?" she whispered and smiled softly.

Laella looked at her, and then she forced herself to look at Azimio.

"I don't know how to start…"

"Then let me," Blaine interrupted; rising from his seat (he seemed to be doing that often). "Firstly, Adams, I don't like you."

"Blaine." Mr Anderson warned.

"I didn't want to meet you at first. I thought it was just so you can act like you're the victim in the situation. Which you're not. But…" he sighed. "My sister wanted to. She talked some sense in me. Maybe she's right. You might not be responsible for your actions. But why, exactly?"

Laella was torn between wanting to punch her brother in the face for being blatantly rude and wanting to hug him for helping her to ease the awkward silence.

"I suggested for this meeting to take place because I want to talk to the two of you, okay?" Azimio sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "Firstly, I'm sorry. I grew up in a neighbourhood filled with violence, and I didn't know better. So when… I do stuff, I can't control myself."

Ethan raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"You beat up my brother and Kurt. You and Dave Karofsky tormented Kurt for four years. You almost…. You could've… r-raped me if Finn and Mike hadn't come in. You gave Blaine and I fucking nightmares for months. You've done things to lots of other people, but my siblings are the main targets, are we? Give me a reason why I shouldn't leave now." Laella's knuckles were turning white the way she gripped her chair. Blaine reached out and rubbed his thumb across her fingers. She smiled softly at him before looking back down.

"Look, ugh," Azimio slumped back against his chair, rubbing a hand over his face. "I know I don't deserve your forgiveness. I admit that I've done a lot of stupid things you'll never forget. But I've changed, My mother… I'm the only one she has. I swear. I've been attending some classes here. I need to start over, and I can't do that if I carry this with me forever."

"Does that mean you're going to apologise to the others too? You know, we're not the only ones."

"I'll be willing to."

"Then I'll accept it."

Azimio broke into a smile that lit up his face. Laella knew she was doing the right thing.

"Let's take things slow, okay?"

* * *

><p>"It was intense, but we managed to settle things."<p>

Laella heaved a deep sigh, smiling at the grainy image on her laptop screen. She had paused from her packing and sat down at the computer.

"I'm glad," Cameron grinned when he saw how Laella's face brightened when she talked about how things had gone with Azimio. Looks like he did not need to punch anyone in the face after all. "It's nice how things turn out so nicely in the end."

"Yeah, like how you got elected Prom Prince but refused to dance with Tania Drizzle; that was all over facebook for over 2 months. People keep asking me if I'm magic because I, and I quote, 'dope Cam's drink with love potion'. Sometimes, I praise everything that I'm away from there." She laughed.

"But I still miss you." Cameron pouted.

Laella ducked her head down. She missed him so much too. Sure, it had been 3 months since his visit, but the pull was stronger than before.

"My family and Kurt's are driving to New York to look at apartments next week. It's like an 8 hour drive. I'm seriously going to die; getting squashed with one annoying brother in the backseat is enough when he'll be pouting and texting his boyfriend every 15 seconds." Laella rolled her eyes, while folding a pair of jeans.

Cameron raised an eyebrow. "Wait… New York? You didn't tell me you were going to New York. Wait let me check my calendar- now where is it…" He disappeared from the screen. Laella heard rustling in the background, and then her boyfriend came back. "How long are you going to be there?"

"… The entire week, I guess? We arrive on Monday late afternoon and leave on Friday night." Laella answered, raising a curious eyebrow.

"Guess whose parents are taking him to New York to visit his grandparents for two weeks?" Cameron grinned.

Laella gaped. "Wait… that's just too much of an coincidence." She rambled. "Right? Right?"

Cameron smiled affectionately. "Nah. See?" He held out the calendar towards the screen and Laella could see the messy tick marks on it.

"_Can you meet me halfway, right at the borderline? That's where I'm gonna wait for you_," Laella sang playfully, watching her boyfriend bury his head in his hands.

"Damn Jake's Black Eyed Peas phase. That was torturous." Cameron laughed. "Could you imagine sharing a room with him for those 6 months? _I'll be lookin' out night and day, took my heart to the limit, and this is where I stay_." He grinned. "I think I have the entire album memorized."

Laella laughed. "So, Cameron Bryant, will you meet me halfway?"

Cameron winked before blowing a kiss at the camera. "I don't see why not."

* * *

><p><strong>Tell me what you think of my characterisation and overall! (:<strong>


	20. Chapter 20: NYC

**This story's grown a lot. I wasn't expecting much reception, nor even a review, but you guys have proven that wrong. Thank you! This should be the second last chapter, if I'm not wrong? After this story, I'm working on another AU story that's Klaine-centric. My OCs'll be there, but not mentioned very often.**

**-JessC**

* * *

><p>Chapter 20- NYC<p>

"It's so surreal. I can't believe we're actually here. I mean, last year was just for Nationals, and we stayed for 5 days. And now we're here to _choose a house_, that we're actually going to live in."

Blaine smiled, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend's waist. "We are," he said, kissing his cheek. No one walking on the street gave them a second glance nor yelled at them. Their house agent even grinned at them. It was awesome.

Blaine and Kurt were out alone with the house agent, viewing potential apartments. Burt and Robert were out having a drink (non-alcoholic, Burt reassured). They promised the two boys that they would be happy with whatever they chose.

Ethan and Sienna were out shopping for souvenirs. Carole was shopping too, accompanied by Mrs Anderson. Laella either had no plans, or she didn't tell them. And Finn stayed in Ohio as he wanted to join the Call of Duty marathon with the other Glee boys.

"This place is one of my personal favourites," the house agent, Stella gushed. "Sadly, no one wants it as it's so secluded and the previous owners painted the house a dreadful green. But it's still beautiful. I'll give you two some time alone." She stepped out, closing the door behind her.

It was gorgeous, Kurt agreed silently, staring in awe.

"What do you think, K?" Blaine grinned. "I love this place. I can see magical things coming out from here."

Kurt laughed as his boyfriend skipped around the living room, occasionally stopping to inspect the cushions and test the stability of the coffee table.

"We'll need to get a dining table, though," he mused, "and there's still that hideous green."

"So so so?" Blaine now bounded up to Kurt, dragging him by the hand to the sofa.

"I'll probably need some time…"

Without warning, Kurt let out a surprised squeal as he was pulled onto the sofa.

"I'm tired." Blaine complained. "We've been looking for ages, Kurt. Choose this place now! And then we can go home and cuddle."

"It's small…" Kurt said hesitantly.

"Do it or else!" Blaine laughed maniacally.

"What are you going to do, Anderson?" Kurt said, snorting. "I mean, it's not like you could- Blaine, stop that! Get off me, you goof!" he burst out giggling as fingers ran nimbly up and down his sides.

"Never! Until you say yes!" Blaine had the biggest smirk on his smug face as his boyfriend writhed under him.

Kurt stuck his tongue out at Blaine as he managed to grip hold of the latter's wrists. Blaine gasped dramatically as Kurt expertly flipped them over so that he was lying on top, his head on Blaine's chest.

"Can you imagine our lives here?" Kurt whispered.

Blaine just smiled affectionately.

"We'll need to get like 10 more closets, though; I'm not going to shorten my closet size to accommodate all of your clothes."

Kurt swatted him on the shoulder. "Ass."

Blaine sneaked a kiss. "And we'll need to get more shelves since we have a lot of stuff. I mean, you wouldn't want the kids to trip and fall over, would you?"

"Kids?" Kurt got misty eyed.

"Yeah, sure- I mean, if you want! We don't have to rush into this, we haven't even started college yet, and we don't have a job, but I just-" Blaine started panicking.

_Great, I've said too much, now he's gonna think that I'm delusional, that we're still too young to think about it. Oh god, what if he doesn't want to have any? I mean it's fine, but did I hit a nerve when I mentioned kids? I don't think- _

"Blaine."

Blaine stopped and looked up at Kurt worriedly.

Kurt pressed a kiss to the tip of Blaine's nose. "We'll need to get cookie tins, too. Our children should learn to bake so they can do it for their own kids. It'll become a family tradition. I'll make sure of that fact."

Blaine gave a watery smile. "You want kids? With me?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" Kurt gave him an incredulous look. "I love you, Blaine. As long as you do not name our daughter Katy."

Blaine laughed, nudging Kurt playfully. "Well, I'm not calling my kids…. Alexander or something similar to that. Not even Dolce. That would just be too traumatizing."

"Blaine! How dare you call the name Alexander traumatizing!" Kurt gasped dramatically. He playfully pushed Blaine off the couch and Blaine acted quickly, pulling Kurt with him until they landed into a helpless giggling heap on the floor.

And when Stella came back, they were whispering to each other and giggling, Blaine pointing out near-impossible fixtures they could place and Kurt just smiling affectionately at him.

_We found our home. It's ours._

* * *

><p>"Hey Blaine, do you think that kid looks familiar? I remember those spectacles and hair."<p>

Blaine squinted at the counter, trying to get a better glimpse of the boy Kurt was referencing to. "That's weird, he does look familiar- but I'm sure he's not one of the Warblers, nor the glee kids."

"Hold on sweetie, I'll order biscotti for us to share and I'll check it out." Kurt exited the booth before Blaine could say anything.

Kurt got in line and looked around him. He mentally cursed himself for losing the guy. Suddenly he felt a light tap on his shoulder.

"It's Kurt, right?"

Kurt spun around in surprise. The boy he was stalking- no, observing- was standing there. He smiled shyly. "I'm Cameron."

"You're Lae's boyfriend." Kurt grinned. "Blaine's over by that booth, by the way," he pointed in the direction of a particular bowtie-wearing boy staring back at the two of them. "Go ahead and join us."

Cameron smiled back and left. Kurt watched him greet Blaine, and the boys fist bumped each other as Cameron sat down.

When he got back with his order, Cameron and Blaine were engaged in an entertaining conversation

"So Cameron, what brings you to New York?" Blaine asked.

"My parents and I are visiting my grandma in the city. I swear it is pure coincidence that our times in New York coincide with each other." Cameron laughed.

"Oh, so you know that she's here?"

"We did make plans to hang out tomorrow, but my relatives are talking about boring stuff, so I snuck out and found this place. So I don't know, I wasn't sure if she's busy, so I didn't check."

"Right on time. The last time I checked, she didn't plan anything for today. So if we head back now, maybe you'll still be able to meet with your girl." Kurt grinned playfully as he watched Cameron blush hard enough to resemble tomatoes.

* * *

><p>Laella didn't make any plans, it was true. So whatever that happened afterwards were completely unexpected.<p>

"Don't you have your own keycard?" she raised a curious eyebrow at her brother as he entered the room. Their father's connections with important people got elite suites for them and the Hummel-Hudsons'. The Andersons' suite was two huge rooms connected together by a door. Blaine and his father shared a room while Laella and her mother took another. Ethan and Sienna shared a small room a level below while the Hummel-Hudsons slept in the suite directly opposite theirs.

"I do, but your prince doesn't," Blaine said loftily. "this is all the thanks I get for being a kindhearted soul?"

"Prince?"

Laella's incredulous look directed at her brother faded as a boy with the oh-so-very familiar features stepped in.

"Cam!" she laughed as she went and tackled her boyfriend, almost sending the two of them to the floor.

"Good afternoon sunshine," Cameron gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. Laella flipped off her brother as he made gagging noises behind their back.

"Don't pretend you've never done more disgusting things with Kurt in front of me, Anderson." she scolded.

"Just… Just go! Let your teenage hormones fly!" Blaine yelled as he left the room. "Use protection! Avoid my bed at all costs!"

A pillow narrowly missed his head by inches.

"Why you should never wish to have siblings, exhibit A." Laella smirked at Cameron, who had doubled over in laughter.

"He's nice. Albeit a jerk, I guess, but he's really protective of his sister." Cameron grinned as he flopped down onto the bed, looking up at Laella.

"He didn't give you any dumb serious talks about killing you, did he?" Laella raised an eyebrow, falling back onto the same bed and turning on her side to face him.

"I admit that he did. But he's not just doing all that because it's his job, isn't he? He cares about you."

"I guess I'm blessed." Laella smiled warmly, cupping Cameron's head to pull him into a sweet kiss. "So, want to go for a walk, Prince Charming?"

"If I'm Prince Charming what does that make you?" Cameron allowed himself to be pulled off the bed by his girlfriend. He wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled into her neck, earning a stream of giggles from her. "It tickles," she squealed, jabbing him in the side playfully. Laella turned around in his arms and kissed him again.

"Let's just leave before we waste any more time." she smiled.

* * *

><p>"Blaine, get away from the window."<p>

"20 minutes to 5 and she's not back yet. Dear god, what if something happen to them? What if they get kidnapped? I shouldn't have left them in New York alone. I…"

"You're over-exaggerating, Blaine." Kurt shook his head, staring adoringly at his panicky boyfriend. "Come here, I want cuddles."

Blaine sighed and obliged. He burrowed himself into Kurt's arms, and Kurt began petting his hair absentmindedly. "You're thinking too much into this. Cameron's a decent gentleman; don't even try to scare him off. Your brotherly instincts are worse than Finn's. That boy keeps forgetting that I'm a month older than him."

He turned Blaine around to face him. "Besides, I can think of much more… engaging activities to fill your mind."

"What do you mean… _oh_." Blaine trailed off in a groan as Kurt started mouthing at his neck. "I… guess that I can do that."

* * *

><p>Kurt blinked sleepily, trying to keep the drowsiness away. He slowly sat up, smiling softly to himself as he watched Blaine snuffle a little and curl up against Kurt's warmth.<p>

He let a hand rest on his boyfriend's curls, playing with it.

_I get to wake up to this every morning_, he thought, and had to cover his mouth to stifle the squealing he could not control.

Things were going well. Blaine had been accepted in NYU to do English, and Kurt was going to be an intern at Vogue. Their dreams were all starting to come true, and Kurt could not wait.

"Someone's awake."

Kurt jumped a little and glanced down to see a smiling Blaine looking up at him through his long eyelashes. God, Blaine just looked beautiful. Amidst the sun setting over New York City, a ray of light just happened to seep in through the drawn curtains and land on Blaine's face, illuminating it in a way Kurt had never thought possible.

"Hello," Kurt said simply, reaching down again to brush a few stray curls from Blaine's forehead. Blaine pushed himself up and pulled Kurt in for a kiss. When they broke apart, Blaine whispered, "I love you so much."

"I love you too." Kurt beamed. He stood up from the bed, and after pulling on a pair of boxers, extended an arm. "Join me in the shower." He said.

Blaine grinned back and took the extended hand, lacing their fingers together. He was about to walk towards the shower with Kurt, but stopped as he looked out the window.

"They're back."

The two boys headed towards the window and looked down towards the entrance of the hotel. True enough, a boy with sandy-coloured ruffled hair was walking hand in hand with a girl sporting a flower (that wasn't there before) tucked into her auburn hair. As they reached the hotel, the boy spun the girl around and they held each other tightly. The girl was whispering things into the boy's ear and the boy laughed, kissing her on the cheek. They talked a while before the girl looked at her watch, shaking her head exasperatedly. They shared a deep kiss before the boy flagged a taxi over. The girl stood there as he got into the taxi, and after a wave, the taxi drove off.

Laella looked up absentmindedly and caught the eye of her brother. She grinned before heading in.

"I told you." Kurt smiled.

* * *

><p>"Thanks for bringing Cameron over, by the way. You're awesome."<p>

"What?! I can't hear the last part- speak louder, preferably for the entire table to hear!" Blaine cupped his ear and leant towards his sister exaggeratedly.

"I TRY TO BE NICE, AND THIS HAPPENS." Laella shouted in Blaine's ear, and Blaine reeled back from the impact.

"Fine, have it your way." Blaine pouted, sinking back into his seat like a wounded puppy.

His eyes suddenly widened and he drew in a sudden breath. Everyone leant towards him, curious for what he was about to say.

"You didn't do it in my bed, did you? In that case I hope you changed the sheets afterwards."

The whole table filled with teenagers (and two adults) blanched and choked on whatever they were eating or drinking. Laella herself choked on her drink, coughing rather sporadically. "Oh my god! We're at the dinner table, Blaine Carter Anderson! Can you not bring up things like that?"

Blaine gasped. "So you did! I would never have guessed it! I can't sleep properly tonight now that I know what shenanigans happened where I'm lying on!"

"What? We-we did n-nothing! How many times must I tell you!"

Kurt and Ethan chuckled at their antics. "Do they always try to one-up each other?" Kurt snorted, glancing towards Ethan.

"God, Kurt, you have no idea," Ethan groaned loudly, rolling his eyes dramatically as his two siblings continued to bicker. "But the next thing you know, they team up and try to steal your éclairs- hey!" he swatted at Laella as she poked at his plate with her fork. "Speak of the devil."

Laella headed back towards her seat beside Blaine, whispering, "Mission failed."

"You're a terrible Bond girl," Blaine whined. "Go get some from the dessert line, then."

Laella simply narrowed her eyes.

"Okay, okay, stop, you two aren't married, stop acting like you are," Sienna fussed.

"Ugh!" Laella and Blaine hurriedly shifted their chairs away from each other, cringing. "Why would I marry him- he's practically already engaged!" Laella remarked.

"Another day in the Anderson family." Sienna remarked to a very amused (and flattered because Laella mentioned 'engaged') Kurt, as the three Andersons continue to act half their age. "Let's just leave quietly," she continued, pulling Kurt up by the wrist. Kurt nodded, grinning, before following her out of the buffet room.

* * *

><p><strong>I love my Andersons. And I love you guys too, for putting up with me and my long absences. <strong>


	21. Chapter 21: Graduation

**FINALLY!**

**My exams are over, so I was able to complete this in a few days! Warning: the middle portion is mainly just crack. I missed you guys.**

**So regretfully, I think we have come to the end of this fic. I loved writing it because I knew that there was still a range of audience who was interested. So thank you for the support. :3**

**I already have another fic idea that I'm working on. It's an angsty AU whereby Blaine and Kurt are both depressed. And when Blaine caves in and tries to kill himself, he meets Kurt who is trying to do the same.**

**I'm not so sure about my ability to write these really triggering fics, so I might post the first chapter as an oneshot and get comments before I think of continuing it. So do check it out when it comes out! It's called Hold Me Tight.**

**I love you guys.**

**-JessC**

* * *

><p>Chapter 21- Graduation<p>

_2 years later_

"Nervous?"

"N-no, why would I be?" she forced a smile as she turned to her McKinley best friend, away from the chatter of audience hurrying to their seats.

"You're a confident one, Laella Anderson." Ashley smirked. "Just wait until they find out who is valedictorian."

"Oh, god," Laella groaned suddenly, shaking her head. "I will _never _hear the end of this from Blaine. Why did you guys think it was a good choice to choose _me_?"

She looked out once more through the stage curtains. Her eyes were fixed onto the row of chairs where she last saw her family.

Blaine and Kurt had flown in from New York for the week, to attend her graduation and to also meet up with their fellow glee clubbers. The gang hardly found time to meet, as each was so busy with their studies and work. Though Mercedes, Mike and Brittany were going to be absent, the rest were in Lima.

The teacher backstage gave them a signal and all the seniors scurried back in line, their tassels flying up and down. Laella shot a panicked look and Ashley grimaced, patting her on the shoulder. "Breathe," she commanded. "If it was one of the football guys we'll all have to become ostriches. That's why we all voted for you because you have the best English in class."

Ashley hurried back to her position before the teacher arrived.

"Ready?"

"…and now, let us put our hands together to welcome the valedictorian of the Class of 2014!"

Laella got up, and on shaky feet walked towards the stage. She allowed herself one small glance towards her family. Her parents, Kurt and Sienna were standing up and cheering loudly. Blaine just gaped at her and Ethan simply mouthed a 'talk to you later'. She rolled her eyes at her brothers and took the podium, smiling politely at Principal Figgins.

"Good morning. On this day of our lives, each of us will walk out of school, holding our heads high. This is our time to shine."

* * *

><p>Clutching her diploma, Laella exited the backstage and glanced around furtively<p>

"You did such a good job!"

Kurt hugged Laella tightly, almost lifting her up. She laughed. "It wasn't much, my teacher and friends helped me write it. But thanks anyway."

She smirked as Blaine and Ethan walked up to her. "Who did you bribe?" was the first thing that came out of Ethan's mouth.

"No one. I don't need to. Everybody loves me." Laella scoffed.

"I find that hard to believe," Blaine rolled his eyes sarcastically. He reached forward and wrapped his sister in a tight hug. "Congrats." He murmured, pulling back to kiss her on the cheek.

Laella smiled. "Thanks, Frodo."

She looked around again. They weren't there, the people she had painstakingly written the speech for.

"Where's Dad and Mom?"

Blaine's smile faded a little. "They…. They had to go back to work. Emergency meeting and some important case cropped up. They send their love." He said hopefully.

Laella's heart sank a little.

"I-It's fine. They made it today. They're trying." She stared at the ground, biting her lip. "It's just that… I really thought they would make it for the whole day. They promised."

"You still have us, though! " Ethan forced a cheery smile, watching his sister's face turn lost. Secretly he lamented his parents.

Kurt hugged her again and she buried her face in his neck.

Blaine was about to comment on the various imperfections of their parents and complain about how 'they could've at least stayed for the reception' before he spotted a particular bespectacled boy walking towards them. "Turn around."

Laella and Kurt did so and Laella squealed, her mood lightening immediately. She ran to tackle her boyfriend.

"You said you were coming two days later!"

"I lied," Cameron grinned. "I miss you. And besides, I'm taking you along to my graduation, so why not?"

"I miss you," Laella smiled. Their noses touched in a little Eskimo kiss and they stared into each other's eyes until they were interrupted by some annoying douche clearing his throat loudly.

"Cough-PDA-cough," that douche, also known as one Blaine Anderson, snorted.

Laella simply turned to him and uttered three words. "Finn and Rachel."

"They don't even go here anymore!"

Laella glared at him. And then all of a sudden, she smirked. She turned around and pulled her boyfriend into a kiss. Cameron gasped into it out of surprise but soon kissed back, fingers threading into Laella's hair. Everyone around them jumped at the suddenness.

"OH MY GOD! MY EYES! I DIDN'T NEED TO SEE YOU DO THAT TO MY BABY SISTER!" Blaine yelled, causing a few graduates to turn and stare at the group. Some of them cheered. "Hey Anderson! Where did you get that eye-candy from?"

"This is not happening," Blaine groaned.

Laella pulled away, leaving behind a rather stunned (and dazed) Cameron. "One more time," she warned. She waved sweetly towards her classmates, kissing her boyfriend on the cheek.

"I'm not complaining." Cameron smirked.

Blaine gaped. "Cameron! I thought you were on my side!"

"He's mine. So he's obliged to take my side." Laella grinned.

"So, picnic?" Ethan cleared his throat, interrupting his siblings' banter.

* * *

><p>"It's so relaxing to finally just sit back and eat with my beautiful extended family." Sienna sighed happily as she leaned against Ethan's chest, clutching a cup of punch.<p>

"Well, not everyone's sitting down." Ethan murmured, kissing his fiancé's temple and stretching out on the picnic mat.

He looked towards the sea. Blaine was chasing Kurt playfully, splashing water at each other. Blaine finally tackled Kurt and messed up his hair. They heard Kurt yell and they were play-fighting, knocking each other on the sand.

Meanwhile, Laella and Cameron were just sitting on a park bench. Cameron's arm was around Laella and they were talking quietly, sneaking kisses now and then.

"You know what?" Sienna turned around to face Ethan. "If this was the same 40 years later, I wouldn't mind. They're adorable."

"That they are," Ethan smiled. "It breaks my heart every time I remember Blaine screaming in his sleep after the Sadie Hawkins dance. How he told me one day he was never going to find someone." His smile dipped a little. "But look at him now. He's got Kurt. I'll be damned if I don't get to be best man at their wedding."

"Kurt really is Blaine's soulmate, don't you think?" Sienna smiled, watching said boys giggling and making fun of each other. "Blaine's all grown up now. It's funny how life passes by so quickly. I still remember him as that scrawny little boy who kept throwing his Power Rangers through the window, trying to make them fly."

"Laella's not exactly that small either. She's… a grown woman. Sure, she might've gone through a depressing sophomore year, but she pulled through. She's a fighter. I'm glad we found out before it was too late."

"It's been two years, Eth. It's okay."

They turned around to find Laella and Cameron walking towards them, linked hand in hand.

Ethan sighed. "I didn't mean to bring up the sad things on your day."

"It's okay." Laella squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. She kissed her brother on the head and went into Cameron's inviting arms, nuzzling at his neck. Cameron kissed her forehead, tracing the mostly faded scars on her arms.

It was still a tough subject for them, but they pulled through.

Blaine and Kurt made their way over to them, their hair mussed up from their activities.

"You will rue this day, Blaine Anderson."

"Aw babe, you're so cute because I know you're not exactly angry, are you?"

Kurt shot one last glare at his boyfriend which held no malice.

"Is that an iCarly reference?" Laella wrinkled her nose.

"I find it surprising you actually mention iCarly. Like you watch it." Kurt paused. "You don't, do you?"

"Wait- what? No! I was 10! It was the 'It' show in my grade!" Laella protested. She glared at her brothers, who were doubled over with laughter. "Hey hey hey, watch who you're laughing at. I have enough dirt on each of you."

Ethan's eyes grew wide and he stopped talking. He knew better, unlike his younger brother.

"No you don't." Blaine choked, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye. "I'm too good to get caught."

"You deserve it." Laella sighed dramatically. "Kurt, Blaine was so obsessed with Britney Spears when he was in elementary school. In 5th grade, he sang Toxic to the boy he liked in a crowded cafeteria because he didn't know the true meaning behind the song."

"How did you remember that? You were like 4!" Blaine flinched heavily at the memory. The whole group giggled beside him and he pouted.

"Ethan told me." Laella grinned.

"Hey, don't drag me into this!" Ethan protested as Blaine turned to glare at him.

Kurt, Cameron and Sienna shared understanding looks with each other.

"It isn't as embarrassing as…. I don't know, Randall Jensen?" Blaine smirked back, proud with himself. Ethan barked out a laugh and he highfived Blaine, grinning.

"You _take that back_." Laella increased the intensity of her glare.

"I need to hear that story." Cameron grinned. Kurt nodded.

"You're supposed to side with me!"

"Sorry, sweetie, but I bet you were adorable."

Laella swatted at Cameron's arm and scooted away from him.

"Everyone is against me today." She pouted.

"It's your destiny, strawberry shortcake." Blaine was having so much fun.

"Aw Lae, don't do this," Cameron pouted back.

The couple stared at each other before Laella groaned heavily, crawling back into his lap and giving him an Eskimo kiss, which wiped the pout and innocent wide-eyed stare from his face.

"Damnit, Cameron, I hate your eyes."

"He gets it from me." Blaine smirked.

"He gets it from all 3 of you, I swear." Sienna scoffed. "I can never forget the time the three of you convinced me to bake sugar cookies. And in the end we didn't even bake anything; you all just devoured the cookie dough."

Laella, Blaine and Ethan shared a knowing grin.

"Aw Sienna, you still love us, don't you?" Laella asked innocently.

"Of course, dummies." Sienna rolled her eyes. "Well at least in 10 or 20 years I would have 2 extra helpers around to ensure my sanity is kept." She nodded at Kurt and Cameron.

"I do so already part-time; I'm not sure if I can handle full-time." Kurt gasped in mock horror.

"Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuurt!" Blaine and Laella pouted identically.

"Why don't we get you guys ice cream to prepare you for those 40 years or so?" Ethan winked. He pulled his siblings up by the collars of their shirts. "Come on, leave Kurt alone."

"I call caramel fudge!" Laella grinned.

"Those are expensive! You're robbing me aren't you!"

As the Anderson siblings chased each other towards the ice cream stand, Sienna turned to face Kurt and Cameron.

"Why did we decide to date a bunch of lunatics?"

* * *

><p>"Hi."<p>

"Hello."

It was awkward, as usual.

"How have you been? Have those sessions been beneficial to you?"

"I guess," he said, ducking his head. "I feel much calm nowadays. Before, I used to always want to punch someone for no reason at all. Now I can control it."

"Glad to hear that." she smiled gratefully. "I'm grateful it's been helping you prepare for the outside world."

"How… how have you been?"

She was taken aback at the sudden question. Usually, they would chat about the anger management therapy and major events happening in the outside world. But neither party probed into their personal lives.

"It's… it's fine." She smiled."I graduated today, you know. I was valedictorian."

He nodded. "That's great. You know… I'm really sorry for everything…"

"Don't," she murmured, looking down at her intertwined hands on the table. "I'm trying to forget all of it. I want to make a fresh start in my life. I'm heading off to college. If this continues to get me down I might not make it."

"I know."

"Blaine is starting to forgive you, too. It takes a long time for his anger to abide."

"Tell him I appreciate it." he smiled.

"Hey, are you coming? It's time for dinner. Ethan texted me that your mom and dad are heading home."

She turned at her boyfriend's voice. "Fine, I'm coming." She turned back. "Hopefully I would see you soon."

Azimio smiled. "Thank you."

Laella smiled back warmly. "Bye."

* * *

><p>Kurt turned to Blaine. "Are you sure it's the right time?"<p>

"Is this just nerves? You were the one who was more excited about announcing this than me." Blaine shook his head, grinning. He made his way over to Kurt, who was lounging on his bed.

"Oi, come down. Dinner's ready!" Ethan yelled through the door. "Put some clothes on and fix your hair or keep the condoms! I don't know, just try not to look like you two just did not have sex or something."

"Go away Ethan!" Blaine yelled back. He smacked a kiss onto Kurt's lips. "Let's go, prince."

Kurt smiled and took Blaine's hand, leading both of them down the stairs.

Dinner was a lively matter, for once. The Andersons had invited the Hummel-Hudsons along, and it was a crowded table. There was talk about Blaine and Kurt's life in New York, talk about Laella's graduation. There was even a small mention of Azimio, which did not dampen the joyous mood.

"Er, hi," Blaine stood up, tapping his wine glass with a fork.

"Blaine, this is not some posh function or something, just yell it."

Blaine shot a glare at his older brother before continuing. "Kurt and I have some important news to make."

Kurt stood up next to his boyfriend, smiling. "Dad, I've talked to you about this already, no need to panic." Blaine said. He turned to Burt, Carole and Finn, who was still munching away at a chicken wing. "I invited the three of you for a reason."

Blaine turned to Kurt, who nodded, carrying on from there. "Dad, Carole….. Blaine proposed to me last week."

The whole table squealed.

Kurt smiled. "And I said yes." He held out his left hand, which the table now noticed was sporting a beautiful ring.

Now the young adults started cheering. Mr and Mrs Anderson just nodded, smiling, while Burt and Carole looked shocked but yet overjoyed at the same time.

"I can't believe you kept that in for the whole day!" Laella laughed.

"Okay, Kurt, just tell me I get to help you plan the wedding." Sienna winked.

"As long as I still get to plan yours." Kurt grinned, showing his teeth.

Ethan just gave the couple a thumbs-up and Cameron reached over to give them high fives.

"Okay, chill guys," Blaine grinned. He turned to Burt and Carole. "I'm sorry for not telling you beforehand. Now I hope to ask you for your permission to marry your son."

Everyone waited with baited breath.

"I'm happy for you two, really. But do you two think you're ready for this commitment?" Burt asked.

"Dad, I love Blaine. Maybe you feel that it's too early to get married this year. But we'll wait. We can wait for each other. After all, we've been waiting forever. We've been living together for about 2 years already. So we understand each others' quirks and we embrace it."

"So you're ready?"

"Yes, I am."

"I don't have violent objections to it." Burt smiles. "I know that you've probably have made a good decision. I'm proud of you, son. I'm grateful that Blaine came into your life." He turned to the Andersons. "You've raised a good son."

"It took me a while to be there for my kids fully, but I now know that Blaine has grown into a mature young man. I'm happy for the two of you." Mr Anderson raised his glass towards Kurt and Blaine.

Blaine's eyes misted over. "Thank you Burt. Thank you Dad." He kissed Kurt on the cheek and they both sat down. Laella and Sienna both leant over and admired Kurt's engagement ring.

"Been thinking it, have you, sport?" Ethan peered over Laella towards Cameron, who was staring lovingly at the latter, deep in thought.

Cameron jumped and blushed. "M-Maybe. But we're too young, I don't know…"

Ethan smiled. "Sienna and I met in high school too, you know." He whispered. "Why not? She loves you too. I can tell; I've known her for ages."

Cameron blushed even more. "Thanks, Eth."

The two men turned back as if nothing had happened.

"It has been such an awesome day." Sienna grinned. "Who's up for some Duran Duran in the living room?"

"Is that a rhetorical question, or…"

The three Anderson siblings chased each other out of the dining room. Those who were left behind just laughed.

"We didn't tell them we switched the CD with the collection of home videos," Mrs Anderson whispered to Kurt, Cameron and Sienna, who laughed. "Sit back and enjoy the show."

In the distance, they heard confusion.

"MOM, WHERE'S THE CD?"

"OH MY GOD, TURN THAT THING OFF! MY EYES BURN!"

"DON'T SWITCH TO _THAT_! Hey Lae, click on the one with Blaine's first day at kindergarten; it has lots of blackmail material."

"I HEARD THAT!"

"Siblings." Kurt and Sienna said in unison, giggling.

Cameron just smiled and sat back, deep into thought again.

* * *

><p><strong>See you guys soon, hopefully! (:<strong>


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